Education
At Northwestern he studied with Anthony Donato (composition), Arrand Parsons (theory), and John Ohl (musicology).
At Northwestern he studied with Anthony Donato (composition), Arrand Parsons (theory), and John Ohl (musicology).
He was the first chairman of the national council of the American Society of University Composers, now called The Society of Composers, Incorporated. Coleman was raised in Charlottesville, Virginia. He "felt compelled to compose as a teenager" and pursued this first at the University of Virginia before completing Bachelor"s, Master"s and Doctoral work at Northwestern University.
Coleman spent the majority of his career at the Oberlin Conservatory of at Oberlin College, teaching composition and classes on intersections in the arts for 43 years while also teaching in guest residencies at a variety of schools and programs.
Among his students at Oberlin were Kyle Gann, Christopher Rouse, Greg Saunier, Evan Hause, and Brenda Way. He also worked with then students Bill Irwin and Julie Taymor as part of the InterArts program Coleman founded at Oberlin in the 1970s.
Their daughter, Emma Rose, died in 2011. Awards and commissions.