Theodore (Ted) John Dollarhide (30 August 1948 – 20 April 2014) was an American composer, as well as conductor and music educator. Dollarhide was born in Santa Rosa, California, to Violet (née Buonaccorsi) and father Jack. From the age of 7 he began to study the piano, two years later switched to the trumpet, and finally chose the tuba as his primary instrument. For a while he played the tuba in the US Air Force Band, before completing a degree in music composition at the San Jose State University, where he studied with Higo Harada.