William McDaniel

Area Head of Jazz Studies

Area: Jazz (Jazz Studies)
William McDaniel

Dr. Ted McDaniel, Professor of African American Music at The Ohio State University since 1981, is a specialist in African American music, jazz history, and jazz performance. He holds joint faculty appointments in the School of Music, where he serves as Director of Jazz Studies, and in the Department of African American & African Studies, where he served as Department Chair from 1989-1996. His scholarly and creative writings represent various aspects of jazz and black music. He has lectured extensively throughout the United States and has been invited to present in Africa, Europe and China. Known for his analysis of the music of Charlie Parker and John Coltrane, he is the author of several works on black music. As a music arranger, he has written over 200 arrangements for jazz bands, R&B groups and marching bands. He has written music for the Sesame St. television show, as well as for several professional groups. Since 1981 he has been a music arranger for the OSU Marching Band, where his arrangements have been performed at virtually all of the Big Ten stadiums and at the Rose Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Liberty Bowl, Citrus Bowl and Sugar Bowl.

He has directed the OSU Jazz Ensemble since 1990. Under his leadership, the OSU Jazz Ensemble has toured internationally with three European tours (1996, 2001 and 2007), where they were invited to perform at several of the most prestigious jazz festivals in Europe including the North Sea Jazz Festival (Holland), Montreux Jazz Festival and Brienz Jazz Festival (Switzerland), Vienna Jazz Festival (Austria), Vienne Jazz Festival (France), Tuscany Jazz Festival and Umbria Jazz Festival (Italy), in addition to other non-festival sites and cities. The Jazz Ensemble, under his direction, has performed throughout the state of Ohio and the US and at OMEA, MENC, and IAJE professional conferences. At Ohio State, he also directs the annual 4-day Jazz Festival, the 5-day Summer Jazz Camp, and the 2-day Jazz Symposium.

Dr. McDaniel is affiliated with several organizations. A founder and former president of the National Black Music Caucus (now the National Association for the Study and Performance of African-American Music), he holds membership in several professional associations including the Center for Black Music Research, National Association of Negro Musicians, National Association for Music Education, National Council for Black Studies, Association for the Study of AfroAmerican Life and History, and the International Association for Jazz Education.

Among his awards, citations and grants, he was the recipient of the “Distinguished Teaching Award” in 1987 and the “Distinguished Scholar Award” in 1994 in the School of Music at Ohio State, as well as the “Distinguished Diversity Enhancement Award” in 2000 from The Ohio State University. He received his BA degree from Morehouse College and his MA and PhD degrees in Music Education from the University of Iowa. Prior to joining the faculty at Ohio State in 1981, he taught previously at Morehouse College and North Carolina A&T State University. He continues to be active as a scholar, teacher, arranger, conductor, clinician and adjudicator in African American music and jazz education circles.