Allen McCullough

Allen McCullough is an Assistant Professor of Music at Purdue University's Patti and Rusty Rueff School of Design, Art, and Performance, teaching courses including Music Appreciation and maintaining an active career as a composer and pedagogue.

His educational background includes a Bachelor's degree in Music from Brown University, a Master's in Composition from the Manhattan School of Music (studying with Giampaolo Bracali), and dual Master's and Ph.D. degrees in Composition from the University of Pennsylvania (studying with James Primosch, Jay Reise, and Anna Weesner).

McCullough's creative research spans multiple compositional domains with particular emphasis on instrumental and vocal expression. His work demonstrates technical mastery across diverse formats including solo piano, string quartets, orchestral compositions (notably a five-movement symphony and piano concerto), and extended vocal forms. The composer exhibits consistent exploration of contemporary classical idioms while maintaining strong connections to traditional structures.

Analysis of his recent compositions reveals concentrated development in chamber music and vocal genres over the past decade, with significant contributions to viola-piano repertoire, art song cycles, and innovative piano works that bridge historical forms with modern harmonic language.

Scientific awards and honors include:

• Selection for drift – vol.34 of the Society of Composers, Inc. new music CD series
• Selection for inclusion in the scores library for the American Viola Society for Sonata for Viola and Piano (c.2019)
• Finalist for the National Association of the Teachers of Singing (NATS) Song Cycle competition for The Blue Symphony song cycle (c.2014)
• Inclusion in RMN Classical’s album Modern Music for Piano 3
• Selection for inclusion in RMN Classical’s album Modern Music for Piano 4 for Preludes 2-4 (c.2011)
• Inclusion in the Sound and Music Archive of the British Library for Preludes 2-4

McCullough has secured significant research funding through grants from the Indiana Arts Commission, National Endowment for the Arts, Mercer University, and Purdue University. His collaborative practice involves prominent international artists including Van Cliburn gold medalist Yekwon Sunwoo, Czech Philharmonic concertmaster Josef Spacek, soprano Jennifer O’Loughlin, and the Aeolus, Harlem, and Daedalus String Quartets.

While maintaining no formal laboratory, McCullough operates within a dynamic network of performance collaborators and commissioning organizations including the Tippecanoe Chamber Music Society, Chamber Music Yellow Springs, Eakins Vocal Consort, and Lotte Lehman Foundation, facilitating the realization of new works through close artist-composer partnerships.