Jordan Walsh is a percussionist, audio engineer, and educator based in Austin, Texas. A proponent of electronics and theater in music, he strives to perform the most absurd music with the most genuine fervor. Jordan frequently commissions and performs new works in both chamber and solo settings, including recent collaborations with composers including Elainie Lillios, Akshaya Avril Tucker, Kitty Xiao, and José Martinez. Frequently engaged as a solo performer, Jordan has appeared as a performer at the SEAMUS conference, the New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival, the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, and Southwestern University, with upcoming engagements including residencies at Purdue University and the University of Alabama. He is principal percussionist/personnel manager for the Density512 new music collective, member of minimalist improvisation group Goliath Was Bigfoot, and is one half of the live-only-nonbroadcast-pirate-radio phenomenon Peach Blossom Highway. Jordan’s work as an electroacoustic performer and composer led him to form the Electronic Integration Project, a dual commissioning and pedagogical effort intended to teach electroacoustic performance practice to performers. Jordan holds both a Doctorate and Master’s Degree from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Bachelor’s degree from Columbus State University. His primary teachers have included Thomas Burritt, Tony Edwards, Paul Vaillancourt, Ryan Smith, and Erik Forst. Jordan proudly endorses Pearl/Adams Percussion, Sabian Cymbals, Black Swamp Percussion, and Innovative Percussion. When he is not engaged with contemporary classical music, Jordan can be found playing drums with singer-songwriter James Tabata and prepared guitar with Austin’s experimental folk band Middle Sattre.
In addition to his performance career, Jordan maintains an active teaching schedule in the Austin area. He currently serves as Assistant Professor of Applied Percussion at Southwestern University and as Adjunct Associate Professor of Percussion & Audio Technology at Austin Community College, and maintains a small studio of private students in both percussion and audio technology. Jordan has appeared as a guest lecturer at the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith, the Schwob Summer Music Festival, and frequently works with the students of Austin Soundwaves as a guest speaker. Most recently, Jordan was engaged by the Austin Civic Orchestra to oversee the 2023 Pearl Amster Chamber Ensemble.
Jordan is also an active audio engineer and producer, working independently as well as for the University of Texas at Austin. Recent production credits include Ciyadh Wells’ Unrelenting, Density 512’s Akousmatika, Colin McCall’s Bloom, James Markey’s Psychedelia, Peter Steiner’s United. Beyond traditional audio work, Jordan is proficient in both the Max/MSP and SuperCollider audio processing languages, and is a composer and advocate of electroacoustic music. He has acted as technical director for the Southeastern Composer’s Symposium, run live sound for artists ranging from Gina Chavez to John Psathas, and spent two seasons as the voice of classical music radio show “Classical Overnight”, which airs on WCUG 88.5 FM in Columbus, Georgia. His audio technology teachers have included Russell Pinkston and Matthew McCabe.
