Ronald Eugene Alford, 82, passed away on December 29, 2021, in Mountain View, California from complications following pneumonia.  He leaves his wife, Candáce Lowe; children, Stephanie of San Jose, California, Dean of Mesa, Arizona,  Kelly of Wellington, Florida; grandchildren Jordan, Morgan, Cheyenne, Denny, Andrew, Oshia Marie, and Jena; and brother, Harlan of Las Vegas Nevada. He was preceded in death by his parents, Eugene and Mellie Erma (Carter) Alford of Simla, Colorado, and his sister, Erma Jean of Colorado Springs.  He is buried in New Durham, New Hampshire near his wife's family.

A graduate of the University of Colorado (BA) and Adams State College (MA), Ron also studied at the University of Illinois and Stanford University.  Over those years he studied with George Crumb, Vladimir Ussachevsky, and Cecil Effinger.  Towards the end of his Boulder years, he joined the Denver Symphony Orchestra playing the trumpet. He then went on to teach music in the American Southwest for 16 years.

An active performer since childhood, Ron performed in various chamber, jazz, church, and rock & roll groups all his life.  He operated recording studios and hosted opera and 20th-century music on commercial and NPR FM radio.  As one of the founding members of the New Mexico Jazz Workshop, he hosted such performers as Bob Ostertag, Fred Frith, Cecil Taylor, Brian Eno, and John Cage.

During his career, Ron was the recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities (1979), the New Mexico Arts Council (1980), the California Arts Council (1988), and the Arts Council of Santa Clara County (1996). He received numerous commissions for theater, ensemble, multi-media, film, and dance.

Ron's passion for composing and performing electro-acoustic music flourished after moving to California.  His music was performed in Austria, Canada, England, Denmark, France, Germany, and China.

Of Ron's composition, "Thoughts of Blossoms", he wrote,  "It is based on my experience with the ancient Chinese 21 string instrument called the Zheng.  Its clear, singing tone and deep mellow qualities are very exciting.  Based on an ancient Chinese folk song I heard in San Francisco by a group of musicians from Beijing, I first fell in love with the sounds of an ensemble of instruments that would make an indelible impression on me.  The sound I heard was so unusual and so exciting that I could not keep the music out of my head.  My composition captured the essence of that sound which always stays with me.  The composition is created in part with digital software to derive much of the sound palate."

Ron spent the last 22 years of his life as a wheelchair-bound paraplegic due to an automobile accident in 2000. Still actively composing, he teamed up with Peter Elsea at the University of California in Santa Cruz to create hardware and software to react to his wheelchair movements.  Ron wrote, "With the electronics created to react to my wheelchair movements, I am able to cause my laptop to generate sound as I roll across a performing space, either outside or on a stage." Peter's and Ron's creation was part of a growing movement by many disabled music jams to create and perform live computer-generated music on the stage."

For his efforts, Ron received a Silicon Valley Laureate award for bringing together, "the fields of music and computer science in an experimental approach to music."  Ron wrote, "I was very flattered to be chosen for this award. It has made it possible to continue my life's work as a composer of sound art and of electronic music performed live, not just from sound files."