Adjudicators
Jack Cooper
With a wide range of experience as performer, composer, arranger, musical director and educator, Jack Cooper’s influences are far ranging. He most recently has served as the Composer and Arranger in Residence for the Berlin Jazz Orchestra and Young Voices of Brandenburg (since 2015). The “Songs of Berlin” album (2021, GAM Music) by the BJO was written and conducted by Cooper and has garnered high praise.
A recent recording of his works for jazz orchestra is with Planet Arts Records. “Mists, The Music of Charles Ives for Jazz Orchestra” (2014) has garnered high praise. Ives biographer Gayle Magee wrote, "These recordings preserve the essence of (Ives) classics...while offering a fresh, modern reinterpretation for Ives fans and jazz enthusiasts alike." Mists was named by the Chicago Tribune as one of the Top 10 Jazz Recordings for 2014. Cooper is a also a recording artist for Origin Records with three recent releases on that label as musical director and or composer.
His 2010 release with Centaur Records (“The Chamber Wind Music of Jack Cooper”) has been a critical success in the innovation of new chamber, solo works. Noted by Fanfare Magazine, "...the purpose of this (recording) is to broaden the stylistic range of concert chamber music; a breaking-down of barriers...collectors wishing to savor jazz served in classical mugs will find this an interesting release.”
From 1989-95 Cooper toured and recorded with the U.S. Army Jazz Knights in their sax section and served as staff arranger.
He is currently the Pearl Wales Professor of Jazz Studies and Commercial Music at the University of Memphis, Scheidt School of Music. He holds degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Texas at Austin.
Marlin McKay
Marlin McKay is adjunct lecturer in music in general studies, teaching jazz history, at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.
He is active as a composer, arranger, performer, and educator.
While completing his master's degree in jazz performance at the Jacobs School, he blossomed under the tutelage of David Baker and garnered a reputation for delivering captivating solos while performing in the critically acclaimed Baker Band. Prior to receiving his master's degree, he earned his Bachelor of Jazz Studies Performance degree from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
McKay has received national acclaim having recently placed as first runner-up in the National Trumpet Competition Jazz Division.
He has been a participant in the jazz residencies of the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead program in Washington, D.C., and the Steans Institute for Young Artists, in Ravinia, Ill.
McKay has released one album, Deep in the Cosmos, and is currently working on his second, The Look, to be released in 2014.
He has been a featured soloist on a number of side projects and recordings, performing with such jazz and blues luminaries as Rob Dixon and Triology, Dave Bayles, Todd Howell, Tad Robinson, John Proulx, Greg Osby, the late Melvin Rhyne, Greg Artry, Jesse Palter, “Baron” John Von Ohlen, Cynthia Layne, Javon Jackson, Mikel Avery, Marquis Hill, Slide Hampton, Richard “Sleepy” Floyd, Sean Jones, Wycliffe Gordon, Walter Blanding Jr., Butch Miles, Eric Schoor, Terrell Stafford, Kevin Anker, and Ben Williams.
Matt Pivec
As a performer of jazz and popular music, Matt has worked with Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, Dave Rivello, Bob Brookmeyer, Peter Erskine, Maria Schneider, Julia Dollison, Melvin Rhyne, the Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra, The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, the Rochester Philharmonic Pops Orchestra, and the national touring companies of Hairspray, 42nd Street, and The Producers. As a band leader and soloist, Matt has performed at jazz festivals and venues throughout the United States. He has three albums to his credit, Live at Snider Hall, Psalm Songs and the recently released Time and Direction.
Currently, Matt is the director of jazz studies at Butler University where leads the Jazz Ensemble and teaches courses in the jazz studies curriculum. Under his direction, Butler ensembles have performed with world-renowned guest artists such as Benny Golson, Stefon Harris, Maria Schneider, Kurt Elling, Christian McBride, Bobby Sanabria, Donny McCaslin, Fred Sturm, Melvin Rhyne, Steve Allee, Ted Poor and the Wee Trio. Under his direction, in 2020, the Butler University Jazz Ensemble won the Downbeat Student Music Awards Undergraduate Large Ensemble Category.
Matt received the Doctor of Musical Arts (Saxophone Performance and Literature) and Master of Music (Jazz Studies and Contemporary Media) degrees from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. While at Eastman, Matt studied with Ramon Ricker. He performed with the Eastman Wind Ensemble, the Eastman Graduate Saxophone Quartet, and served as lead alto saxophone of the Eastman Jazz Ensemble. Matt received the Bachelor of Music Education degree with honors from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
Matt has presented educational clinics and research at the Jazz Education Network Conference, the International Association for Jazz Education Conference, the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, the Hong Kong Institute of Education, and the Indiana Music Educators Association Conference. His publications have been featured in Teaching Music, Inform, and Jazzed magazines.
Matt is a member of the national music honor society, Pi Kappa Lambda, and in 2013, he received the Mortar Board, Excellence in Teaching Award from the Jordan College of the Arts. IN 2020, Matt received the Outstanding Collegiate Music Educator award from the Indiana Music Education Association. He is also a past president of the Indiana Jazz Education Association.
In February 2009, Matt founded the Butler Youth Jazz Program and Butler Summer Jazz Camp. From these programs, students have progressed to study at some of the top music conservatories and colleges in the United States.
Sean Parsons
Sean Parsons is a jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and educator. Originally from Illinois, Sean holds a Bachelor's degree in music composition from Illinois Wesleyan University, a Master's degree in jazz studies from DePaul University, and a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Illinois.
Prior to his appointment at Ohio University, Sean has held faculty positions at Marshall University and Illinois Wesleyan University. He is in demand as a performer and clinician nationwide. Sean has been invited to direct several All-State and district big bands, combos, and vocal jazz ensembles and has shared the stage with many of the most notable musicians in jazz including Clark Terry, James Moody, Jon Faddis, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Steve Turre, and Randy Brecker. Additionally, he has regularly performed with and arranged for Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr.
He lives with his wife, twin children, two horses, three dogs, a parrot, and a turtle, most of which are named after jazz musicians.