Dan Cosley

Dan Cosley is an American guitarist, composer, and author whose work moves fluidly among classical tradition, jazz improvisation, and experimental music. A former protégé of Ricardo Iznaola and Roland Dyens, Cosley has performed internationally, premiering original works across North America, Europe, and Japan.

Cosley lived in Japan for 11 years, an immersion that proved central to his artistic formation. During that period, he composed for film and television, working with directors and major studios including Toei, while absorbing an aesthetic world that continues to inform his approach to sound, space, form, and restraint.

His catalog encompasses more than 40 published titles, ranging from solo and ensemble pieces to genre-crossing arrangements, The Art of Canon, an ambitious 15-volume exploration of modal counterpoint, and The Voice-Leading Atlas, an eight-volume series on chord voicings and contrapuntal connection. Drawing on Renaissance polyphony, jazz harmony, free improvisation, and algorithmic composition, his music reflects a voice shaped by historical craft, cross-cultural experience, and experimentation.

On record, Cosley's discography is similarly expansive. His albums range from solo guitar works to electroacoustic improvisations and ensemble collaborations, exploring the instrument's capabilities across styles, cultures, and centuries.

After returning to his hometown of Dubuque, Iowa, Cosley became a director at Northeast Iowa Community College, where he oversees programs across the college's eight-county district. He also serves on the music faculty at Loras College as an adjunct professor. Alongside his administrative and academic roles, he continues to compose, record, teach, and perform, pursuing a lifelong investigation of the guitar's expressive range.