Ron Bishop is currently a faculty member at the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music.  He stresses the tuba’s lyrical quality and special sound and feels strongly about changing the misconception that the tuba is an “oom-pah” instrument.  To younger students, he has recreated the role of “Tubby the Tuba” and demonstrates the genealogy of the instrument by playing sea shells, animal horns, a cardboard tube, a plastic golf club holder and a vacuum cleaner hose. 

Ron began studying tuba when he was seven, towing it to lessons in his red wagon. His music teacher, Elizabeth (Betty) Hamilton, greatly influenced his choice of instrument and love of music. 

In college, Ron excelled in both music and athletics. A New York state diving champion, he earned a Bachelor of Music degree and a Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music, and a Master of Science degree from the University of Illinois.  He has studied with Roy Thrall, Donald Knaub, Robert Gray, and the late Chicago Symphony Orchestra tubist Arnold Jacobs.

From 1967 to 2005, Ron served as principal tuba of the Cleveland Orchestra. Prior to  Cleveland, he was principal tuba with the Buffalo Philharmonic, the San Francisco Symphony, the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, and the United States Army Field Band. He has also performed with the Cleveland Symphonic Winds and the Severance Brass Quintet.

Ron has performed as a soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the
San Francisco Symphony, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, and the Heights Chamber Symphony Orchestra. He has appeared in numerous recitals and clinics throughout the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

He has written extensively concerning the tuba and the arts in general, published in the tri-lingual "The Brass Bulletin", "Arnold Jacobs: Legacy of a Master", and he was an associate editor for the "T.U.B.A. Journal" among others.  He is also an avid supporter of, and performer with, Performers and Artists for Nuclear Disarmament.

Currently he performs with the the Heights Chamber Symphony Orchestra and the NEOTuba Quartet (NEO = Northeast Ohio). a