Full Bio can be found below!

Short Bio

At last, Cole Counihan made his long awaited return to Nashville’s Belmont University after spending his summer with the Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps. Known as a versatile performer, musically fluent in both classical percussion and lighting design, Counihan has worked with notable groups such as Third Coast Percussion, the Chicagoland Pops Orchestra, and the Nashville Repertory Theatre. Currently, Counihan is completing his degree at Belmont University while also serving as a professional percussionist and lighting designer in Nashville.  Cole can be contacted and booked via his website; ColeDrums.com.

Full Bio

At last, Cole Counihan made his long awaited return to Nashville after marching his final season of Drum Corps International with the Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps. Known as a versatile performer, musically fluent in both classical percussion elements and lighting design, Counihan has worked with notable groups such as Third Coast Percussion, the Chicagoland Pops Orchestra, and the Nashville Repertory Theatre. 

Playing music since he was a small child, Counihan made the decision to pursue a career in entertainment when the COVID pandemic began. Settling on Belmont University, Counihan began studying both traditional classical percussion and the more theatrical element through all four of his seasons marching Drum Corps. Counihan also quickly rose through the ranks of several production crews in the Nashville area after his initial arrival, becoming crew chief of Belmont University’s School of Music production crew as a freshman.  

Counihan has proven himself to be a versatile performer, with a dynamic range spanning the end of a drum corps show to the quietest notes of a marimba solo on a concert stage.  

Throughout Counihan’s career, he has had the opportunity to work with Third Coast Percussion, The Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps (Drum Corps International, World Class), Redline Performing Arts (Winter Guard International, Percussion Independent World), The Nashville Repertory Theatre, The Chicagoland Pops Orchestra, The Fox Valley Orchestra, The Naperville Winds, Belmont University’s Percussion Ensemble (Performing at Christmas at Belmont as well as independent concerts), Belmont’s Wind Ensemble, Concert Band, and Symphony Orchestra. Cole has also had the opportunity to do lighting design for Cody Fry and Belmont University’s Voxology, Jazzmin, Company, Pops, VoCo, Southbound, Pheonix, Jazz Band I + II, Commerical Guitar I + II, Rock Ensemble, and Bass Ensemble. 

“Cole is sociable, intelligent, kind, and hard-working. He would without a doubt benefit any team or organization of which he is a member. I am not looking forward to the end of his internship with us, but am so excited to see all of the amazing things that Cole will undoubtedly create and achieve as his time in college ends and he transitions into the professional world.”  

- Sean Connors, Third Coast Percussion 

Currently, Counihan is completing his degree at Belmont University while also serving as a professional percussionist and lighting designer in Nashville. Large upcoming projects include his junior recital in February 2025, the global premiere of his percussion quintet over the summer of 2025, and graduation from Belmont in May of 2026. 

Cole can be contacted and booked via his website; ColeDrums.com.