Musician · Scholar · Curator · Educator
Paul
Cox,
PhD
Musicologist — Composer — Administrator
Composition
Scholarship
Curation
Education
Consulting
Photo: Tanya Rosen Jones
Musicologist — Composer — Administrator
Paul Cox is a composer, musicologist, curator, and educator whose work explores the intersections of American modernism, experimental music, and institutional arts leadership. Based in Shaker Heights, Ohio, he brings over three decades of experience to every collaboration.
Trained as a percussionist at Oberlin Conservatory under Michael Rosen and later as a scholar at Case Western Reserve University, where he earned his PhD in Musicology in 2012, Paul has performed, composed, and lectured across the United States, Germany, and Alaska.
From 2014 to 2024, Paul served as Dean of Creative Arts at Cuyahoga Community College, overseeing nine academic programs, a $15M budget, and the Tommy LiPuma Center for Creative Arts — home of the internationally renowned Tri-C JazzFest at Playhouse Square.
His scholarship centers on John Cage and the politics of American musical modernism. His PhD dissertation, Collaged Codes: John Cage’s Credo in US, has been recognized as a major contribution to Cage studies. He has written for Grove Dictionary of American Music, Cleveland Art Magazine, and American Music journal.
Today, through Galankin Consulting, Paul helps arts organizations and higher education institutions build ecosystems where creativity, community, and education converge.
Five interconnected practices — each informing the others, each rooted in a deep belief in the transformative power of art.
From electro-acoustic scores to choral works and theater music, Paul’s compositions explore the boundary between structured form and spontaneous sound — premiering across the US, Germany, and Alaska.
View works →A percussionist trained at Oberlin under Michael Rosen, Paul has performed with ensembles including the Oberlin Percussion Group and the Case Percussion Group, bringing rhythm to the forefront of contemporary sound.
Learn more →His PhD dissertation on John Cage’s Credo in US established Paul as a leading voice in American musical modernism. His writing spans Grove Dictionary entries, museum essays, and academic conference talks.
Read writings →At the Cleveland Museum of Art, Paul co-directed the Aki Festival of New Music, twice winning national awards for adventurous programming. He has curated over sixty public programs annually.
See career →As a teacher, administrator, and curriculum builder, Paul has guided thousands of students through music history, theory, and practice — from Oberlin seminars to Tri-C classrooms to public lectures.
Explore teaching →Through Galankin Consulting, Paul works with arts organizations, higher education institutions, and cultural nonprofits — helping them build ecosystems where creativity, community, and education converge.
Get in touch →
“Music history is not a series of facts to be memorized — it is a living argument about who we are and what we value.”
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson
Paul’s approach to education integrates deep historical knowledge with contemporary relevance. Whether leading a senior seminar at Oberlin or a survey course at Case Western Reserve University, he brings the same commitment: to make music history feel urgent, contested, and alive.
His administrative work as Dean of Creative Arts from 2014 to 2024 extended this philosophy to institutional scale — building programs, mentoring faculty, and advocating for the arts as a core component of civic life.
Paul believes that great teaching begins with genuine curiosity. He designs courses around questions rather than answers, encouraging students to discover the contested nature of musical knowledge rather than receive it as settled fact.
His seminars and lectures are known for their integration of primary sources, live performance, and cultural context — drawing on his dual identity as both a practicing musician and a trained historian.
Selected works spanning electro-acoustic scores, chamber music, dance, theater, and solo instruments — premiered across the United States, Germany, and Alaska.
An examination of John Cage’s 1942 percussion work as a site of political and aesthetic collision — tracing the composer’s use of collage, quotation, and noise as tools of modernist critique in wartime America. Recognized as a major contribution to Cage studies and American musicology.
Helping organizations build and sustain arts ecosystems at the intersection of creativity, education, and community. Advisory work for cultural nonprofits, higher education, and arts organizations nationally.
Oversaw nine academic programs serving 2,500 students across four campuses. Managed a $15M budget, the Tommy LiPuma Center for Creative Arts, and the annual Tri-C JazzFest at Playhouse Square.
Taught Musical Studies Senior Seminar at Oberlin and courses in American Popular Music and Social Protest at CWRU, directing the Case Percussion Group.
Coordinated the NEA-funded launch of a summer arts and culture festival with over forty public programs, including TEDxSitka and the Sitka Summer Music Festival.
Curated the classical music series and played an integral role in the renovation of Gartner Auditorium.
Curated an internationally acclaimed biennial festival of contemporary music, earning two national ASCAP / Chamber Music America Awards for adventurous programming.
Produced over sixty public programs annually including the Musart Chamber Music Series, opera, radio broadcasts, and Musart Records releases.
Available for commissions,
speaking engagements,
scholarly writing,
and arts consulting.
Paul brings over three decades of experience as a composer, scholar, and administrator to every project — from major commissions and keynote lectures to long-term institutional partnerships through Galankin Consulting.
