Jason Price Alarm Will Sound Photo, New York Times
Bill Kalinkos on clarinet and Jason Price on trumpet in a rehearsal for Alarm Will Sound at the Whitney Museum. Photo by Nicole Bengiveno of The New York Times

Jason’s passion for music, theater, technology, art, and collaboration brought people together from many fields in order to create and express beauty in our world. His warmth, humor, and love knitted these people from different walks of life together as an extended family. Jason’s enormous talent, passion, and loving-kindness are dearly missed by all who knew him.

Jason Painter Price

Jason Painter Price Memorial Scholarship 

The Jason Painter Price Memorial Scholarship in the Department of Theatre is for students pursuing coursework or interested in theatrical design, primarily sound design. Recipients will generally be selected during the Spring semester, with awards to be effective the following Fall semester, typically during the tuition payment process.

Click here to donate to the JPP Memorial Scholarship.

If you have questions or would like to learn more, please contact Becky Ten Brink, Assistant Director of Development for the College of Arts & Letters, at tenbri25@msu.edu or 517- 884-1705.

Testimonials from Jason Painter Price's Former Students

Hanbing "Han" Liang

MA in Environmental Design (2017)

I might have been one of the many, many students Jason helped, but personally, knowing him was especially meaningful to me. He was the person that opened the door for me into sound and showed me what PhD life should look like. I always think about, if he didn’t agree to work with me, I would have never gone this route in terms of research. All the things I’m learning now are built from what I learned from Jason during those couple of years. He truly opened my eyes and gave me lots of directions.

Griffin Irish

MFA in Theatre: Sound Design (2020)

As a student, Jason opened my mind to the world and see and hear things from a different angle and be compassionate to those with different stories than my own. 

He taught me to have my own voice as an artist. Showed me how to design a world of sound in every which way other than the right one, because the right way was boring.

 He taught me to be curious. Always ask questions that hopefully lead to more questions. He was an explorer in the world sound, and I was lucky enough to tag along.

Quinn Legge

MFA in Theatre: Scenic & Media Design (2022)

Jason Painter Price was a kind and passionate professor who could link any subject to sound design or the history of music. I learned many important lessons about listening with intention and appreciating the sounds of life in his classes that I hold dear to my heart and carry with me. His memory and impact will be felt and remembered by all the many students who had the joy of meeting him and I’m very grateful to have been one of them.

Rain Foiles

MFA in Theatre: Scenic & Costume Design (2019)

Jason Painter Price had such a passion, kindness and playfulness in the way he taught his craft and it gave me a profound appreciation for the auditory arts. I learned to hear the beauty of the soundscapes around me from a perspective I had never considered previously. Even though sound design was not my primary area of interest in school I looked forward to every class I had with Jason. He encouraged curiosity and exploration, which helped me remember what I love about learning and teaching. In my own mentorship practices I try my best to carry his spirit and practices with me.

Daniel James Shafer

BFA in Theatre: Acting (2019)

Jason was an exceptional teacher and mentor. He provided me with engaging opportunities in sound design that both exceeded my expectations and encouraged new perspectives. His vast knowledge, comprehensive understanding, and unwavering passion for his field were evident to everyone he collaborated with.

Jenna Gove

MFA in Theatre: Costume Design (2020)

It’s hard to summarize the impact of Jason Painter Price’s teaching and mentorship. To watch him teach was to watch a masterclass in engaging and empowering each student. His classroom was a place where you felt comfortable speaking up, because no matter your skill level, Jason valued your ideas. For every topic he had an amazing or surprising story to share, constantly thrilling us with his experience, talent, and humor. In his classes we cried and laughed so hard we cried. Jason’s example of patience, humility, and kindness will forever influence my own approach to teaching, and I will always be grateful for the honor of being his student.

Lucas Nunn

BFA in Theatre: Sound Design (2013) & Current Instructor of Sound Design and Engineering at MSU

Jason Price was one of the most unique and talented individuals I have ever known.  His brilliance at playing the trumpet and designing sound for theatre was only surpassed by his commitment and generosity to his students, and the artistic community at large. 

I was lucky enough to know Jason when I was still pursuing my undergraduate degree; he helped me focus my energies when I still was unsure of what I wanted to do with myself and needed guidance more than I realized.  Jason provided me with knowledge and opportunities even beyond my graduation, helping me find jobs relevant to my interests, and inviting me back to work with him at the Department of Theatre when he needed an extra hand. 

Jason was always quick to offer assistance to other theatres, whether it was loaning a piece of equipment or personal assistance, even saving the occasional concert when help was sorely needed.  His ability to offer this assistance stemmed directly from his own love of technology and learning new tools and skills that would enable him to design both more effectively and creatively. 

Knowing firsthand the impact Jason had on many individuals, myself included, I hope this scholarship helps new sound designers follow their own passions as they grow.  While they won’t have the pleasure of knowing Jason personally, his kindness and caring can still affect them in more ways than they know.

Jason Painter Price Photo

Jason Painter Price's Biography

Jason Painter Price was a devoted husband, brother, son, and highly regarded musician and educator. Born the first of twins on October 7, 1975, in Williamsburg, VA, Jason developed a precocious interest in and aptitude for music, learning coin position, sound design, computer music, multiple styles of playing, and multiple instruments, including trumpet, which would become his signature instrument and passion.

Jason received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from Virginia Tech in 1998, a Master of Music, and a Doctor of Musical Arts from the Eastman School of Music in 2005. As the Assistant Professor of Sound Design in the Department of Theatre at Michigan State University, Jason celebrated a student-centered experiential pedagogy that balanced theory, technical learning, and creative application. As a sound designer, Jason created innovative compositions for live performances at MSU and numerous venues throughout the United States.

In 2020 Jason was awarded the title of Associate Professor-Fixed Term at Michigan State University. This title was bestowed on him posthumously to recognize his significant intellectual leadership as a creative scholar and is an important recognition of the contributions he made to enrich the academic community through his teaching, creative scholarship, mentorship, and stewardship. In 2021, Jason posthumously received an honorary Excellence in GA Mentorship Award from the MSU IAH Faculty Advisory Committee in appreciation for all the hard work mentoring GAs, for positively impacting their lives, always privileging their individual educational needs while also fostering their independent growth and autonomy. Jason was considered by his students and peers to be extraordinarily kind, enthusiastic about teaching and learning, and compassionate.

While at Eastman, Jason helped found the world-renowned contemporary-music ensemble Alarm Will Sound. In 2004, when Alarm Will Sound became Artists-in-Residence at Dickinson College, Jason moved to Carlisle, PA, where he met Blake Williams. Blake was hired by MSU in 2005, which inspired Jason to move to Michigan. Jason and Blake were married in 2010, and Jason was hired as an MSU faculty member in 2011.

Jason was a highly accomplished musician (trumpet), composer, and sound designer, as well as a member of the Recording Academy, where he served as a Grammy voter. As a longtime member of the Contemporary Musical Ensemble, Alarm Will Sound, Jason performed and designed at venues throughout the world, including Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Lincoln Center, Disney Hall, Holland Festival (Amsterdam), International Performing Arts Center (Russia), Berlin Philharmonic (Germany), and the Cork Opera House (Ireland).