Ron Warren - Performer/Composer/Educator
Ron is considered one of the most versatile and dynamic performers in the country today. His soulful performance will reach right into your heart, while his expert dexterity allows for more contemporary journey of the Native American flute. Ron has the ability to honor the past while moving Native American music into the future. Ron has performed with many artists in many venues such as The Kennedy Center, South Street Seaport, the National Museum of the American Indian, and Nationals Ballpark in D.C. for the Pope’s Visit, Native American Festivals, World Music & flute festivals as well as other festivals across the country.
In Native American flute playing tradition, it is said that each flute player is not a composer, but a Song Catcher. This allows for whatever music is floating around us to be “caught” by the player and brought to the people who need to hear it most. Ron’s doctorate has provided him with the foundation to create new works that pull the contemporary side of Native American songwriting. Ron has written compositions for voice & Native American flute in both a classical and world music setting, arranged various traditional songs for the flute, composed the majority of the music on his recordings, and has orchestrated other compositions for various choirs and orchestras.
Ron has been an educator for many years. From teaching college students composition & music theory to educating young students about Native American music & culture, Ron has made learning fun and engaging. Young people & adults alike come away with a fresh look at music and how it is created as well as how it interacts with all aspects of life. Ron earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition from the University of Maryland. His work has been supported by the American Composers Forum, First Nations Composers Initiative, Meet the Composer, the Maryland State Arts Council and numerous performing arts organizations throughout the United States and Europe. He is Associate Professor of Music at Washington Adventist University and teaches World Music at Montgomery College.