GTCC music instructor Ford brings eclectic performance experience and skills to the classroom

“Along with the music, though, there is a sense of unity within the group. Most of us don’t know each other, but there’s a sense of unity gathering that many musicians who are classically trained and also love playing hip-hop music,” Ford said.

Ronnal Ford, DMA, is an instructor in creative and performing arts at Guilford Technical Community College. However, that doesn’t tell his whole story.

Ford’s boundless energy guarantees his students receive real-world experience as part of their music education.

If you have attended an orchestra concert in the Piedmont Triad, or been to a performance on the East Coast, you’ve probably heard him play.

He recently performed with hip-hop star Jeezy in Raleigh on a Friday night and Charlotte on a Saturday, played in Jacksonville, Florida, the next afternoon.

Ford underplays his performance schedule with, “I play in a few symphonies.” Dive a little deeper, and he’ll tell you he’s involved in as many as four symphony performances a month, many as an invited guest performer.

And all of that is on top of his teaching schedule at GTCC and beyond.

Ford’s been an instructor of music and jazz appreciation and performance classes at the college for 11 years. He also teaches woodwinds at North Carolina A&T University.

He holds a doctorate in musical arts from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in oboe performance. However, his musical abilities extend far beyond the instruments he teaches. He plays both oboe and bassoon, as well as all the stringed instruments found in an orchestra. He recently performed on electric cello during his Jacksonville show. Ford also occasionally plays saxophone and other horn instruments.

“I have learned over the years that I’m lucky enough that I don’t lose skills when I’m away from an instrument,” said Ford. “I can get back to an instrument and I can jump back on it like a bicycle. I hadn’t played the bassoon in a couple of months, but I think about the bassoon and my mind grabs the instrument.”

Ford does find time for other things, like making the reeds for his own woodwind instruments from African Blackwood, a hard grass, imported from France or Brazil.

“We make our own reeds late at night when we have some time,” said Ford. “They are made of an African grass similar to bamboo. We get the tubes, split them, gouge them, shape them, fold them over, and create the part we need.”

The process also requires soaking the part in water, drying it, and repeating the process. With the steps involved, the 41-year-old Ford says it takes three days to a week to complete a reed for his oboe.

Ford still finds time for more fun with music, like playing with a former professor who is now 90. “She is a phenomenal woman. We play every couple of weeks. I think it helps keep her active and young.”

He also makes as much time as possible to ride his motorcycle. “My husband and I get out and ride when we can. We rode on the Blue Ridge Parkway over Labor Day weekend.”

Back to his recent Jeezy performance, the hip-hop star whose real name is Jay Wayne Jenkins. Like many hip-hop performers today, he often performs with the backing of a full orchestra, many  members are recruited in the region of the concert.

Jeezy needed an oboe player, and Ford was a natural fit. Once recruited, he helped contact and contract other players.

“It was a whirlwind of a day (for each of the three shows). We had an afternoon soundcheck with the orchestra, then came back for the show,” said Ford. “I was also helping with emergencies. There were some flights that got cancelled and I helped find people to fill in.

“They needed a violinist. I texted five and one got right back to me. They got to the show an hour before the started, looked at the music, and went on stage and played.”

Despite the unusual build up to the events and the makeup of the orchestra, once the show started Ford was comfortably at home in eclectic gathering of musicians.

“Along with the music, though, there is a sense of unity within the group. Most of us don’t know each other, but there’s a sense of unity gathering that many musicians who are classically trained and also love playing hip-hop music,” Ford said.

Looking back on the shows with Jeezy, Ford says the credit for the success should be given to GTCC.

“I will say that being here at GTCC prepared me even more. I found myself helping musicians work with the in-ear monitoring system that they used on the Jeezy tour. GTCC students have to learn to use them in their performances with the pop-tech band and with the album release performance. I was also helping musicians get good placements with their microphones as classical musicians whoplay acoustic instruments don’t regularly  use amplification.

“So, because of GTCC, I’m more accustomed to playing with these kinds of systems in a way my (performance) colleagues are not.”