Ethan Cowburn, a soon-to-gradate M.F.A. student in percussion performance in the NIU School of Music, was chosen as just one of five students in the world for the Access/VSA International Young Musicians Program at The Kennedy Center in Washington DC this summer.
The program is open to outstanding musicians with disabilities from around the world. Soloists and ensembles of any instrument or genre can apply.
Cowburn, a native of LIverpool, NY who earned his bachelor’s degree in percussion performance at Ithaca College, comes from a musical family. His parents were in marching band in high school where his father played the Sousaphone and his mother played the flute. Ethan’s older brother and twin sister are also musical. In fourth grade, it was time for Ethan to choose his instrument, and he received some news that changed his musical interests into something that has become his passion.
“I was born with enlarged vestibular aqueduct syndrome (EVAS),” Cowburn said. “The aqueducts in my ear are not the correct size, so sounds do not bounce and aren’t interpreted properly. My audiologist told us that playing a wind instrument would cause the sort of pressure in my head that could cause my hearing loss to get worse. Percussion wasn’t on my original list at all, we had talked about saxophone or trumpet.”
At first, playing percussion was just something Ethan did, but as he progressed through school he started playing in the jazz band and then the pit orchestra, and he realized how much fun he was having.
“I had a lot of older friends going to college for music,” he said. “I thought it was something I would like to do and that’s what pushed me to music.”
One of the things that appeals to Cowburn about percussion is how he gets to try so many different things.
“I play a lot of contemporary music, like new music, and I especially like theatrical music, and world music, non-Western music. If I could only play one instrument forever, it would be vibraphone.”
Cowburn has been active at NIU with the annual New Music Festival, of which he was co-director last year while Greg Beyer, professor of music and head of percussion studies was on sabbatical.
Cowburn’s journey to NIU included a fortuitous meeting with Beyer.
“In the final semester of my senior year at Ithaca College, Greg’s professional group, Arcomusical was there to perform. I couldn’t make the concert because I had an audition at the University of Michigan, but I had a chance to talk to him and he was incredible. Usually when guest artists come, they perform and leave. But Greg was so interested in what we were doing and was so genuine that it made an impression. He messaged me and told me it was nice to meet and that he wished me the best on my audition.”
Cowburn saw that NIU’s applications were still open, so he contacted Beyer and asked if he could still audition. He made an impromptu change to his travel plans and stopped in DeKalb on his way back from an audition in Texas.
Impressed by the NIU School of Music and intrigued by the opportunity to continue his studies close to the new music scene in Chicago, Cowburn accepted his offer.
While The Kennedy Center portion of the International Young Musicians Program is in July, Cowburn has already started his participation in the program. He has been assigned a mentor. He also will have a chance to meet with his Congressional representative to discuss accessibility in music and other issues he’s interested in.
Cowburn said he’s most looking forward to discovering ways to improve accessibility in music. “I’ve always struggled with my disability and music. Especially starting out, people just write you off. One of the hardest things is finding ways to accommodate yourself in an environment that doesn’t care to accommodate you. I am working with Matthew McCable, the sound engineer for Eighth Blackbird, to begin to generate accessible technology for people with hearing aids and hearing loss in music. Being able to go Washington DC to be focused on accommodations and work with people who are figuring this stuff out and who have resources could put some jet fuel into this process.”
“It’s an honor to be recognized for this thing that felt like such a burden for so long,” he said. “Now I get to work with people who recognize the challenges and to create some high-level connections. The biggest part is to get to talk to people about what I’ve been working on and how to build it out on a larger scale.”
Cowburn’s plans after graduation include a job with Eighth Blackbird, the Chicago-based, Grammy Award winning sextet who “move music forward through innovative performance, advocacy for music by living creatives and its growing legacy of guiding an emerging generations of artists.”
