Shelby Sender

Instructor, Piano

Alumni

Jon Bellona

CCT (Composition & Computer Technologies)

Kyle Chattleton

CCS (Critical & Comparative Studies)

Victoria Clark

CCS (Critical & Comparative Studies)

Amy Coddington

CCS (Critical & Comparative Studies)

Kevin Davis

CCT (Composition & Computer Technologies)

Stephanie Doktor

CCS (Critical & Comparative Studies)

Jarek Paul Ervin

CCS (Critical & Comparative Studies)

Liza Flood

CCS (Critical & Comparative Studies)

Steven Lewis

CCS (Critical & Comparative Studies)

Christopher Luna-Mega

CCT (Composition & Computer Technologies)

Ben Robertson

CCT (Composition & Computer Technologies)

Rachel Rome

CCT (Composition & Computer Technologies)

Tracey Stewart

CCS (Critical & Comparative Studies)

Max Tfirn

CCT (Composition & Computer Technologies)

Kristina Warren

CCT (Composition & Computer Technologies)

Lydia Warren

CCS (Critical & Comparative Studies)

Faculty, Emeritus

Donald Loach

Professor Emeritus

Judith Shatin

Professor Emeritus, William R. Kenan Jr. Professor (Composition & Computer Technologies)

Kate Tamarkin

Professor Emeritus and Music Director Laureate of the Charlottesville Symphony

Donald Loach

Professor Emeritus

Judith Shatin

Professor Emeritus, William R. Kenan Jr. Professor (Composition & Computer Technologies)

Kate Tamarkin

Professor Emeritus and Music Director Laureate of the Charlottesville Symphony

Faculty

JoVia Armstrong

Assistant Professor

Ayn Balija

Associate Professor

Pamela Beasley

Instuctor, Voice

Calvin Brown

Instructor, Jazz Piano

Matthew Burtner

Director of Graduate Studies, Professor, Eleanor Shea Professor of Music (Composition & Computer Technologies)

A.D. Carson

Associate Professor of Hip Hop and the Global South

Adam Carter

Associate Professor

Jiyeon Choi

Lecturer, Clarinet

Ted Coffey

*On Leave 2023-2024* Chair, Professor (Composition & Computer Technologies)

John D'earth

Senior Lecturer, Director of Jazz Performance

Luke Dahl

Associate Professor (Composition & Computer Technologies), Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering by courtesy appointment

Nomi Dave

**On Sabbatical 2023-24** Associate Professor (Critical & Comparative Studies)

Scott DeVeaux

Professor (Critical & Comparative Studies)

Bridgid Eversole

Instructor, Voice

I-Jen Fang

Associate Professor

William Ferguson

Instructor, Voice

Bonnie Gordon

Professor (Critical & Comparative Studies)

Kelly Gross

Instructor, Piano

Karl Hagstrom Miller

Associate Professor (Critical & Comparative Studies)

Cody Halquist

Lecturer in Horn

Francesca Hurst

Instructor, Piano

Anastasia Jellison

Instructor, Harp

Robert Jospé

Lecturer, Groove Percussion

Colin Killalea

Saxophone Instructor

Michelle Kisliuk

Associate Professor (Critical & Comparative Studies)

Andrew Koch

Assistant Professor and Associate Director of Bands

Nathaniel Lee

Lecturer, Trombone

Noel Lobley

Associate Professor (Critical & Comparative Studies)

Fred Maus

Director of Undergraduate Programs, Associate Professor (Critical & Comparative Studies)

John Mayhood

Lecturer, Piano

Maximillian McNutt

Lecturer in Trumpet

Nicole Mitchell Gantt

Professor (Composition & Computer Technologies)

Barbara Moore

Instructor, Piano & Organ

Stephanie Nakasian (aka Patricia O'Brien)

Instructor, Non-Classical Voice

Elizabeth Ozment

Assistant Dean and Assistant Professor of Music

Brenda Patterson

Instructor, Voice

Kelly Peral

Lecturer, Oboe

Michael Puri

Interim Chair and Associate Professor (Critical & Comparative Studies)

Leah Reid

Assistant Professor of Composition

Elizabeth Roberts

Senior Lecturer, Bassoon

Michael Rosensky

Instructor, Guitar (Jazz & Classical)

Benjamin Rous

Associate Professor of Music (Conducting) and Music Director of the Charlottesville Symphony at the University of Virginia

David Sariti

Director of Performance and Associate Professor

Daniel Sender

Associate Professor

Shelby Sender

Instructor, Piano

Michael Slon

Professor, Director of Choral Music

Peter Spaar

Senior Lecturer, Double Bass

Kelly Sulick

Senior Lecturer, Flute

Elliott Tackitt

Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Bands

Richard Will

Professor (Critical & Comparative Studies)

Michele Zaccagnini

Lecturer (Composition and Computer Technologies)

Graduate Students

Timothy Booth

CCS (Critical & Comparative Studies)

Becky Brown

CCT (Composition & Computer Technologies)

Gabrielle Cerberville

CCT (Composition & Computer Technologies)

Alex Christie

CCT (Composition & Computer Technologies)

Daniel Fishkin

CCT (Composition & Computer Technologies)

Omar Fraire

CCT (Composition & Computer Technologies)

Samuel Golter

CCS (Critical & Comparative Studies)

Corey Harris

CCS (Critical & Comparative Studies)

Kristin Hauge

CCT (Composition & Computer Technologies)

Rah Hite

CCT (Composition & Computer Technologies)

Molly Joyce

CCT (Composition & Computer Technologies)

Brian Lindgren

CCT (Composition & Computer Technologies)

Heather Mease

CCT (Composition & Computer Technologies)

Emily Mellen

CCS (Critical & Comparative Studies)

Siavash Mohebbi

CCS (Critical & Comparative Studies)

Savanna Morrison

CCS (Critical & Comparative Studies)

Natalia Perez

CCS (Critical & Comparative Studies)

Juan Carlos Vasquez

CCT (Composition & Computer Technologies)

Matias Vilaplana

CCT (Composition & Computer Technologies)

Hannah Young

CCS (Critical & Comparative Studies)

Staff

Alex Christie

Technical Director of Composition and Computer Technologies

Marcy Day

Director of Promotions

Michael Idzior

Assistant Athletics Band Director

Joel Jacobus

Director of Music Production

Tina Knight

Assistant to the Chair, Academic Programs Coordinator

Katelyn Rupe

Fiscal Assistant and Event Coordinator

Kim Turner

Department Finance and Administration Manager

Leslie Walker

Administrative Assistant

Brandon West

Assistant Band Director

Profile

Faculty

John

John D'earth

Senior Lecturer, Director of Jazz Performance

Biography

John D’earth plays trumpet with a striking, original sound and a technique that he mobilizes for spitfire improvisation and gripping melodies. A consummate jazz artist, composer, and gifted educator, he draws inspiration from collaborators on the bandstand, from students, and from nature. Internationally known for his contributions in straight-ahead jazz (D’earth served as foil to guitarist Emily Remler, added brawn to the George Gruntz Big Band, and played on Bob Moses’ early recordings) he exhibits omnivorous musical tastes including free improvisation, mainstream rock, and modern classical music. Since he joined the musicians union at age fourteen this wildly eclectic musician has performed across the globe. He appears on over 100 recordings on vinyl, CDs, film, and video in a career that spans the analogue and digital eras. Despite a commanding musical presence he possesses an uncanny ability to bring out the best in musicians with whom he shares the bandstand. All of this is evident on his newly released album, Coin Of The Realm, (Cosmology Records 2023). This song cycle of originals, recorded  with his long-standing quintet, reveals  a musician who, in his seventies, is still evolving and very much in his creative prime. 

 

D'earth’s recordings as a leader for Vanguard Records, ENJA Records, DoubleTime Jazz, and his own Cosmology label reflect an eclectic, searching nature, rooted in the entirety of the jazz tradition and a trumpet sensibility that owes as much to Louis Armstrong as to Lee Morgan and Miles Davis. The list of top-flight musicians he has played with presents it’s own syllabus of jazz genealogies; they include Buddy Rich, Lionel Hampton, Gunter Hampel’s Galaxie Dream Band, Miles Davis/Quincy Jones at Montreaux, Tito Puente, Emily Remler, Bennie Wallace, Eddie Gomez, The George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band (European and China tours), Bob Moses, Pat Metheny, Joe Henderson, Clark Terry, John Abercrombie, and John Scofield,  as well as pop stars Bruce Hornsby, Bonnie Raitt, and Dave Matthews.

A prolific composer and arranger with hundreds of compositions to his credit including full-length works for orchestra and other large ensembles, D’earth has written music for the Kronos String Quartet, the Kandinsky Trio, Bruce Hornsby, the Dave Matthews Band, the San Diego, Atlanta, Richmond and Roanoke Symphony Orchestras, the Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival, the University of Virginia Jazz Ensemble, Doug Richards’ Great American Music Ensemble, and the Charlottesville-Albemarle Youth Orchestra. 

D’earth has a reputation as an extraordinary teacher. He shines jamming with fifth grade bucket drummers at a Charlottesville public school, busking with middle school kids,  instructing highlighly skilled undergraduate and graduate students, and coaching emerging professional artists. He is the Director of Jazz Performance at the University of Virginia where he teaches improvisation, jazz trumpet, jazz composition, and directs the UVA Jazz Ensemble. His teaching practice centers improvisation as a way of learning music, making music, and moving through the world; this allows him to work effectively with very young children, with beginners, and with non-musicians in contexts that range from co-operative primary schools to corporate leadership retreats.

D’earth’s mother bought him his first horn for $15 when he was eight after he saw Louis Armstrong play trumpet in a movie. He studied, as a teenager, with saxophonist Boots Mussulli, (Stan Kenton, Charlie Ventura, Teddy Wilson) with John Coffey (principal trombonist in the Boston Symphony) and arranging with Thad Jones. He attended Harvard University for five semesters. Drawn to the vibrant jazz and loft scene, in NYC, and after interacting with many of the great musicians creating it, he left school and moved to Manhattan. There he studied with Carmine Caruso, Vince Penzarella and Richie Beirach. 

D'earth relocated to Charlottesville, Virginia in the mid-eighties and has been a major influence in building a vibrant local music culture including a thirty year residency at Miller’s, an iconic restaurant and live music venue on Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall. He is a co-founder of the Free Bridge Quintet, was the music director for Cosmology (which became the Thompson D'earth Band) with his late wife, vocalist/songwriter Dawn Thompson, leads the Charlottesville Swing Orchestra, Thursday Night at Miller’s, and his own quartet/quintet/sextet. 

John D'earth's career in music is documented in the Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz, (Oxford Press) by Leonard Feather and Ira Gitler. 

Go to Dearthworks.com to learn more about John D’earth and to the John D’earth Band Camp page https://johndearth.bandcamp.com/ to hear current and archival music.

 


Address

UVA Department of Music
112 Old Cabell Hall
P.O. Box 400176 Charlottesville, VA 22904-4176

Email: music@virginia.edu