Jazz Festival 2013 Guest Artists

Rex Richardson

Trumpet, Yamaha Artist/Rhythm & Brass

Hailed as “An artiste with an exceptional talent …one of the finest trumpet players in the world today,” (4barsrest.com) and “one of the world’s most engaging and astonishingly versatile trumpeters,” (Style Weekly) Yamaha Performing Artist Rex Richardson was named the 2008 Brass Herald Personality of the Year. A veteran of the renowned chamber ensemble Rhythm & Brass, jazz legend Joe Henderson’s Quintet, the Chicago Jazz Ensemble, the Brass Band of Battle Creek, and appearances with countless celebrity artists in multiple genres, he stays busy as a headline artist at international festivals and as a soloist with orchestras, jazz ensembles, brass bands and concert bands on five continents.

Renowned as a champion of new music, Rex premiered concertos by Dana Wilson, Doug Richards and Peter Meechan on four continents. Since 2010 he has premiered Jim Stephenson’s Trumpet Concerto no. 2, “Rextreme” in Australia, South America, the U.K., Europe, the U.S. and Asia.

Rex’s solo recordings are released on Summit Records. According to the ITG Journal, his 2010 release Magnum Opus “…without a doubt, puts Rex Richardson among the very best trumpet soloists in the world today.” (Jan. 2011)

Rex is professor of trumpet and jazz trumpet at Virginia Commonwealth University and is currently Yamaha Artist-in-residence at the Royal Northern College of Music.

Kristin Korb

Bass/Voice, Artistic Director of the 2013 ISB Convention

Bassist/vocalist Kristin Korb tours internationally as a performer,
clinician, and guest artist with numerous jazz ensembles. While studying
privately with jazz bass icon Ray Brown, he arranged for her first
recording with his trio, "Introducing Kristin Korb" on Telarc Records. Her
upcoming sixth album, "What's Your Story" features her innovative
arrangements of jazz standards. Kristin has taught at the University of
Southern California where she was coordinator of vocal jazz studies, Azuza
Pacific University, Grossmont Community College and was Director of Jazz
Studies at Central Washington University. As President-Elect of the
International Society of Bassists, Korb is artistic director for the
upcoming 2013 ISB Convention in Rochester, NY (Eastman School of Music).
Kristin tours across the world and has performed with jazz artists such as
Llew Matthews, Kim Richmond, Pete Christlieb, Jeff Hamilton, Alex Riel and
Jan Lundgren.

For more information, please visit kristinkorb.com.

Dean Sorenson

Trombone, University of Minnesota

Dean Sorenson is Associate Professor and Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Minnesota as well as a prolific and highly sought-after composer, arranger, trombonist, educator, and clinician. He received his bachelor’s degree in trombone performance from the University of Minnesota and his master’s degree in jazz arranging and composition from the Eastman School of Music.

Mr. Sorenson’s most recent publication is STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE FIRST JAZZ PERFORMANCE, a collection of jazz charts for elementary bands and jazz bands. He is the co-author of the STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE JAZZ ENSEMBLE METHOD and ADVANCED JAZZ ENSEMBLE METHOD, an innovative and comprehensive series for middle school and high school jazz ensembles. He is also the author of STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE JAZZ COMBO SESSION, and composer of numerous pieces for concert band and jazz ensemble published by the Neil A. Kjos Music Company. As an advocate of jazz education and the expansion of the repertoire, he continues to develop creative materials and methods to help students and teachers better understand the art form.

Mr. Sorenson has composed and arranged for numerous ensembles including the Glenn Miller Orchestra, the Airmen of Note, the United States Air Force Band, and the Minnesota Orchestra. He is active as a commissioned composer and arranger for jazz ensemble, concert band, and chamber ensembles, and has also written several sacred choral pieces. For more information please visit www.deansorensonmusic.com.

David Stanoch

Drums, McNally Smith College of Music

Minnesota-based drummer/percussionist/educator David Stanoch developed an appreciation for music at an early age with the help of a suitcase record player that he and his brother shared listening to their 45's by The Beatles, The O'Jay's, The Temptations, and the like, along with LP's from their parents' collection.

Encouraged by his parents, David took up the guitar at the age of 7, diligently studying the laws of music, and began drumming at age 10 after his guitar teacher suggested he pay more attention to the drums to improve his rhythm. David was quickly drawn to the excitement of drumming and excelled through his school band (and garage band) experiences.

At age 16, David was selected to be principal percussionist for the 1978 European Tour of America's Youth in Concert, recording an album and performing in New York City's famous Carnegie Hall before heading overseas for a six week tour. It was this experience that helped David decide that music was the direction to which he would devote his life's work.

Today, David has thirty years of professional experience as a drummer/percussionist in a truly eclectic variety of musical situations performing, recording, or touring with contemporary popular artists from genres of jazz, rock, gospel, R&B, folk, and classical music as well as motion pictures, television, and Broadway--his love for a wide range of music fueled by the variety he heard coming from that suitcase record player as a child.

Matt Olson

Saxophone, Furman University

A native of Racine, Wisconsin, Matt Olson is Associate Professor of Saxophone and Director of Jazz Studies at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a Master of Music degree in Jazz Pedagogy and Bachelor of Music degree in Saxophone Performance from Northwestern University.

His performances have taken him to the Montreal Jazz Festival as well as to Chicago’s Jazz Showcase and Orchestra Hall. Matt has performed at numerous national and regional conferences of the North American Saxophone Alliance and the 2003 World Saxophone Congress. He has also been a featured guest artist and clinician at Northwestern University, Arizona State University, the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, the University of Idaho, and high schools throughout the United States. Matt’s debut jazz recording, Vortex, was released in March 2006.

Matt is active nationally as a clinician and adjudicator. He presented a clinic on playing "both sides" of the saxophone at the 2009 Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago. He has previously served as instructor of saxophone for the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities and as summer instructor of jazz saxophone and jazz combos for the National High School Music Institute at Northwestern University. He also conducted one of two 2005 South Carolina Band Directors Association All-State Jazz Ensembles. He holds memberships in a variety of professional music societies including the North American Saxophone Alliance, Jazz Education Network, BMI, Pi Kappa Lambda, National Association for Music Education, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.