Clinician Detail

Aaron Ragsdale - Biographical Information

Aaron Ragsdale is Professor of Music at South Dakota State University, where he teaches applied percussion and percussion pedagogy, conducts the SDSU Percussion Ensemble, and serves as Assistant Director with the Pride of the Dakotas Marching Band. Aaron has maintained an active career as a solo and chamber performer, appearing at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, the National Convention on Percussion Pedagogy, and the National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors; appearing at “Days of Percussion” in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and South Dakota as percussion soloist with the South Dakota Symphony, and recently as marimba soloist with the University of Arkansas Wind Ensemble and with the SDSU Wind Symphony. His playing can be heard on "A Miraculous Tale: Mixed Music for percussion and saxophone," recorded in collaboration with saxophonist Nathan Jorgensen, and on the 2021 release “Resonance,” an album of commissioned works for flute and percussion with flutist Tammy Yonce recorded at the Tank Center for Sonic Arts. Aaron was named Outstanding Artist in the SDSU College of Arts and Sciences for his work as the composer-in-residence for the Harvey Dunn Collaborative in 2016, and he served as the Patricia Noethe-Pierce Artist-In-Residence at South Dakota State from 2016-2018. His percussion quartet, Opener for R.H., co-composed with Barrett Hipes, is published by Studio 4 Music and has been performed by ensembles around the United States. Graceful Circles, a percussion octet, was published in the fall of 2024 by C. Alan Publications.