Professor Ron Reid

Ron Reid
Professor Ron Reid

Professor Ron Reid attended Trinity College from 1968 to 1973. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Berklee College of Music and a Master of Arts degree from Tufts University in the USA. He is currently a Professor of Contemporary Writing and Production at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA.

After leaving Trinity College, Ron worked as a librarian with the Trinidad Express however left that job to become a professional musician. He started his career as a bassist with the late Lord Kitchener’s Calypso Review Tent in 1978 and has performed and recorded with an honor roll of calypso and soca artistes including Sparrow, Shadow, Relator, Superior, Ella Andall and David Rudder. He has composed music for several television programmes in Trinidad including Who the Cap Fits, Morral, Caribbean Eye, The Dish Ran Away With The Spoon and most notably the theme for Gayelle TV. He has also been musical director for the Trinidad Theatre Workshop’s productions of Derek Walcott’s Joker of Seville and Dream on Monkey Mountain at the Huntington Theatre in Boston.

Ron is the founder and arranger for Sunsteel, a Caribbean pan jazz sextet that performs an eclectic mix of Trinidadian folk, afro-Caribbean and jazz compositions and includes some of Boston’s finest musicians. Ron shares his pan playing talents with David Williams’ J’ouvert and Calabash of Toronto, Canada. Ron has recorded and performed with diverse artistes such as Myanna, Dave Samuels, Grace Kelly, Bill Harley. As a bassist, he has performed with Randy Weston, Carmen Lundy, Regina Carter, Lenora Helm, Antonio Hart and Reid, Wright and be Happy.

Ron has distinguished himself as an innovative bassist, pannist, composer and educator. He has mentored and supported many budding individuals and groups to reach their potential in the field of music. His academic pursuits have led him to the position of Professor at one of the world’s leading contemporary music institutions where he teaches ensemble, arranging, and steelpan studies. 

His accomplishments and contributions have helped to cement the pan as an acknowledged musical instrument and have furthered the appeal of Caribbean music genres.

The Trinity College Alumni Association acknowledges the achievements of Ron Reid as an accomplished musician, educator and cultural ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago and readily admits him into its Hall of Fame.