Terry B. Ewell

TERRY B. EWELL

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Terry Ewell is Professor of bassoon and music theory at Towson University Department of Music. In his 30+ years as a professional musician he has received recognition as a performer, teacher, scholar, and administrator.

Terry Ewell currently performs as Principal Bassoon with the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. John's, and the Bach Concert Series Orchestra. For seven years he served as Principal Bassoon of the Hong Kong Philharmonic under music director Kenneth Schermerhorn and visiting directors Gerard Schwartz, Kenneth Jean, Maxim Shostakovich, and Jahja Ling.  Later he was Principal Bassoon of the Wheeling Symphony and Acting Principal Bassoon of the West Virginia Symphony.  He has performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra.  As a soloist he has performed with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the IDRS 2004 Conference Orchestra ( Melbourne , Australia ), and with several regional orchestras in the state of Washington .  In addition, he has performed with the Baltimore Symphony and the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra. His performances as a chamber musician have been heard in Germany, Hong Kong, Portugal, and throughout the United States .  He has recorded for Musical Heritage Society, Hong Kong Records, Pickwick Records, and Cambria Records. He recently recorded as an orchestral member with the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra for Naxos.

Dr. Ewell has gained a reputation for his innovative approaches to bassoon pedagogy.  He is a pioneer in the application of MIDI , MP3, and online video for bassoon instruction.  His YouTube videos, website materials, and web publications with the International Double Reed Society (Bassoon-Family Fingering Companion, the IDRS Reed Project, the IDRS MIDI site, IDRS Who’s Who, IDRS Podcast, and IDRS Conference Program Archive) have been viewed or downloaded over a million times. His articles on various aspects of bassoon pedagogy have received international attention with publication in American, Dutch, and British journals. His writings appear in over a dozen journals, principally The Double Reed, the International Double Reed Journal, and Scrapes. In 2009 he edited and contributed to Celebrating Double Reeds: A Festschrift for William Waterhouse and Philip Bate.

He has taught at the Hong Kong Conservatory of Music, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Pacific Lutheran University (Washington State), West Virginia University, and Towson University.  He is a returning faculty member at the MasterWorks Music Festival and has given master classes or lectures at Trinity College in Greenwich, England; the University of Colorado; Sias University, China; and at several International Double Reed Society conferences. 

Dr. Ewell completed his fourteenth year of service as an administrator in 2009. He was Chairperson of the Division of Music at West Virginia University for five years and subsequently served from 2000-2009 as Chairperson of the Department of Music at Towson University. During his leadership at Towson University, music major enrollment in the Department of Music has grown from 282 to almost 350 students. His efforts helped to secure over $300,000 in additional funds for the Department of Music and over $20,000 for the International Double Reed Society. In 2001 he also administered a successful conference for the International Double Reed Society that raised over $40,000 in revenue. Dr. Ewell has written successful grants to the National Endowment for the Arts and the Maryland State Arts Council. In addition, he played an important role in the planning of the Towson University Creative Arts Center Building Project and the securing of over 1.5 million dollars of new equipment and instruments for the Department of Music.

Dr. Ewell served four years as President of the International Double Reed Society, which has a worldwide membership of over 4,000. In November 2005 He was elected as Chair of Region 6 (North Eastern States) and Executive Committee Officer of the National Association of Schools of Music. Dr. Ewell also served as an accreditation evaluator for the National Association of Schools of Music.

Psalm 150:6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!