Percussionist, Musicologist, Dance Accompanist, Archivist, Conductor, Composer
About Ross Aftel works in different areas of music. After studying performance and music theory/composition in his undergraduate studies at East Carolina, he then pursued a masters degree in performance at the University at Buffalo. After a year teaching with a non-profit at an elementary school in Virginia, he continued his studies with a second masters degree in music history/music theory, and a doctorate in musical arts at Stony Brook University.
Ross has premiered works from Karlheinz Stockhausen, Malika Kishino, Xu Yi, Szilard Mezei, Akiko Yamane, Chatori Shimizu, Heiner Goebbels and many others. Major recent projects have included performing and directing the European premiere of Roger Reynolds’s drama JUSTICE, co-composing and performing the concert length work Be ⁷記得 (for interactive lights, paintings, tape, and percussion with live electronics) with painter Nubbin Dai, light artist Lin Ying Chen, composers Aï Watanabe and Xu Yi. Ross was also the solo musician in residence with the Japanese Society of Electronic Music in 2025. As a conductor, Ross conducted the US premiere of Xu Yi’s 90 minute electroacoustic film score to the 1934 Shanghai film “The Goddess” (神女) and Mauricio Kagel’s “Westen”. As an archivist, Ross worked with Sylvano Bussotti’s materials at SUNY Buffalo, was the Emerson String Quartet’s archivist from 2015-2020, and currently working on materials from Costin Miereanu. As a musicologist, Ross published his work “Shaky Hands and Cold Feet”, exploring disability in performance, and presented his research on 勢 (shì) or “potential momentum” in contemporary performance at National Taiwan Normal University. Ross has given guest recitals and lectures around the world including UMass Amherst, UNC Chapel Hill, Howard University, Taipei National University of the Arts, and the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, Serbia. Ross has accompanied dancers Bill Evans, Melanie Aceto, Doug Varone, the dance departments at several SUNY schools, and the Perry Mansfield Academy of Dance. Since 2021, Ross has been a junior high public school teacher in Taiwan. |
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Highlighted Projects-European Premiere of Roger Reynolds's music drama, JUSTICE. Bern, Switzerland (2026)
-Solo artist for the 2025 Japanese Society for Electronic Music. Tokyo (2025) -Be ⁷記得—林亨泰音樂會. Taiwan (2023) -A Christmas Concert for People Who Hate Christmas Concerts. performed/curated percussion concert Taipei National Theater (2022) -The girl K project. NY (2020) -Guest lecturer at UMass, Amherst (Jan. 2020) -Xu Yi Portrait Project. Stony Brook, NY (Oct.2019) -Guest lecturer at University of Northern Iowa. Presented 3 separate lectures. (Sept. 2019) -Portrait Concert of jazz vibist, Teddy Charles. The Jazz Loft, NY (May 2019) -Morton Feldman's 5 hour For Philip Guston. Stony Brook University (Nov. 2018) -Frederic Rzewski's 80th Birthday Concert Series. Spectrum, NY. (Nov. 2018) -Premiere of Dylan Ebrahimian's Oath. Beijing. (Oct. 2018) -PROJEKAT RAMEM. Concert featuring new commissions for string quartet+ solo percussion. Belgrade/Novi Sad, Serbia. (Feb. 2015) -North American Premiere of Karlheinz Stockhausen's STRAHLEN, for solo vibraphone and 10-channel tape. Buffalo, NY. (April. 2014) |
Kiyou Kamisawa's play, "Yuya"
(2018-19)
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Xu Yi Project (October, 2019)
-Curator and director of Xu Yi Portrait Festival.
Stony Brook University (Oct.8-10,2019)
U.S. Premieres of:
-"Saveur"(2018) with Kanami Kusajima
-"Two Rotations (2019) with Haemin Lee
-"La Divine" (2004) Film score to
Wu Yong Gang's "神女" (1934),
for 10 players, electronics, and silent film
Stony Brook University (Oct.8-10,2019)
U.S. Premieres of:
-"Saveur"(2018) with Kanami Kusajima
-"Two Rotations (2019) with Haemin Lee
-"La Divine" (2004) Film score to
Wu Yong Gang's "神女" (1934),
for 10 players, electronics, and silent film
Videos
For a full list of repertoire, please see the "Portfolio" page
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