Director of Jazz Studies Tim Ishii is one of the newest additions to the music faculty at UTA and since his arrival, the UTA Jazz Orchestra was the featured guest big band at the 2005 Coyote Jazz Festival in Weatherford, Texas and Tim was the featured artist/clinician with the Weatherford College Faculty Jazz Ensemble. The UTA Jazz Orchestra was also one of eight college/university jazz bands selected coast to coast to participate in the 2005 Addison Jazz Festival, Addison, Texas.

Plans are underway for summer 2006 when the UTAJO will tour parts of Germany, participate in jazz workshops, and perform at the North Sea Jazz Festival.

Tim is sought after as a performer and clinician at the state and national level. He has made presentations and performed at the Texas Music Educators Association Conference and has directed numerous high school all-region jazz bands. He is a member of several summer jazz camp faculties including the University of Wisconsin –Whitewater Jazz Camp where he teaches and performs alongside some of the nations leading jazz educators. He is also Music Director for the Lone Star International Jazz Exchange, an ongoing student exchange between the DFW Metroplex and Ibbenburen, Germany.

Tim maintains a busy freelance schedule and has performed with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, and Texas Wind Symphony. He has backed numerous artists including: Natalie Cole, Temptations, Doc Severinson, Clark Terry, James Moody, Slide Hampton, Bob Mintzer, and many others. He is also a founding member of Thrascher, a contemporary saxophone quartet. The quartet has released two CD’s in the past three years.

Tim is an artist/clinician for Cannonball Musical Instruments.

 

Assistant Director of Jazz Studies Dan Cavanagh has garnered numerous awards for his compositions, including a First Music Commission from the New York Youth Symphony Jazz Band Classic program, and Finalist in the 2005 ASCAP Young Jazz Composers competition. His music continues to be performed across the country and internationally, and he has received commissions from a wide range of groups across North America. His compositions for large jazz ensemble are published by UNC Jazz Press.

As a pianist, Dan recently finished recording an album with bassist Adam Linz and drummer Jay Epstein, both based in Minneapolis, MN.  Performing originals and lesser-known standards, this piano trio is an exciting and innovative small group that attracts listeners from a broad range of musical backgrounds.

Dan received a master's of music degree in jazz studies from the University of Oregon, and was awarded the Outstanding Graduate Student in Jazz Studies award upon graduation. Prior to that, he worked for MakeMusic! Inc., makers of Finale notation software. He received his undergraduate degree in Theory/Composition from St. Olaf College.