Biography

With nearly 20 years of culminated artistic and musical experiences, William Cowie is an accomplished Composer, Percussionist, and Pianist focused on the interdisciplinary relationship between music composition and ecology. He is currently pursuing a Master's of Arts in Biology through the Advanced Inquiry Program at Miami University (Oxford, OH), in affiliation with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, further solidifying the interdisciplinary nature of his studies. Former student at Mannes School of Music, he studied music composition under the guidance of Lowell Liebermann where he earned his Bachelor’s in Music Composition. William Cowie’s prior mentors also include Madelyn Byrne for composition as well as Steven Gray and Yelena Kapchinskiy for piano performance.

Having written and performed in a wide variety of styles and fields, he is most recognized for his role as a member of the award winning percussion section within the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps during the years of 2018 and 2019. The ensemble went on to receive awards such as the 2018 Drum Corps International World Championship title, as well as the Fred Sanford award for high percussion in both 2018 and 2019. Soon after, this group would perform their show at the Percussive Arts Society International Conference ‘19. William Cowie has also held multiple faculty titles at select schools as an educator, composer, and arranger.

Artist Statement

My goal as a composer and artist is to create music with color and texture that reminds us of the gifts our earth has given us. Without reciprocal gratitude, we have failed to maintain our relationship with our environment and thus we have forgotten how to listen.

Music is a tool in which to mend our relationship with the Earth, to refill our minds with natural wonder, and to retrain our ear to listen to voices we have forgotten.

With these core beliefs in mind, I began a series entitled “Ecological Studies.” The ecological study series is founded on the pursuit of actively identifying and incorporating natural sonic parameters and structures found within a specific environment. The purpose of these studies is to understand and apply this quasi-ecological music theory in a way that submerges the audience in an aural experience similar in structure to what you would hear within a natural environment.