John O’Neal

John O’Neal is currently serving as Associate Professor of Music at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, where his duties include teaching percussion and jazz studies. He also serves as Chair of the Performing Arts Department, which includes both Music and Theatre.

Dr. O’Neal has performed throughout the United States and Europe in a variety of musical settings, including the jazz, rock, country, musical theatre, and classical genres. Additional symphonic professional experience includes performances with numerous symphony orchestras, including the Music in the Mountains Festival Orchestra, Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra, Youngstown Symphony, Missouri Symphony, Abilene Philharmonic, Las Colinas Symphony Orchestra, Allen Philharmonic Orchestra and the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra.

In 2011, Dr. O’Neal toured with internationally recognized pianists Gustavo Romero and Eri Nakagawa, presenting a program that included Bela Bartok’s Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion and an arrangement of Igor Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. He has appeared on numerous commercially released recordings on the Klavier, Naxos and GIA labels.

Dr. O’Neal holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Percussion Performance from the University of North Texas, and additional degrees from Florida State University and the University of Kansas. His teachers include Christopher Deane, Mark Ford, Ed Soph, Paul Rennick, Ed Smith, Dr. John W. Parks, IV, and Tom Freer of the Cleveland Orchestra.