Don Bowyer

Since retiring from a full-time career in higher education in July 2021, Don Bowyer (b. 1958) continues to be active internationally, currently as a Visiting Professor in the College of Music at the University of the Philippines. Bowyer’s pursuits include composing and performing, presenting master classes and recitals, and serving as a consultant on matters from accreditation to curricular development to higher ed administration. His last full-time position was as Professor of Music and Dean of the School of Arts at Sunway University (Malaysia), having previously served as Dean of the College of Fine Arts at Arkansas State University and Chair of the Department of Music at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Bowyer has taught at every level from pre-kindergarten through doctoral programmes in the United States, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Sweden, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

With degrees from West Virginia Wesleyan College, California State University, Northridge, and the University of Northern Colorado, Bowyer is active in the fields of composition, music technology, and performance. He has published more than 100 pieces of music, developed an educational computer program that has been used in at least 120 countries, and has performed as a trombonist in nearly 50 countries. Among other performing credits, he spent five years playing trombone on 11 cruise ships in the Caribbean Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Gulf of Alaska. The first 10 didn’t sink.

During official lockdowns over the first 16 months of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Bowyer presented nightly solo trombone performances from his rooftop in Malaysia. The series, Rooftop Trombone in the Age of COVID-19, included 290 performances for his neighbors and streamed live on Facebook.

Bowyer and his wife have also served as foster parents, providing a home to 18 foster children between 2003 and 2010.

More information about Bowyer and his music is available at donbowyer.com.