Jazz Academy Faculty

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Mark Donovan

Mark Donavan is the director of the Jazz Arts Group’s Columbus Youth Jazz Workshop, which he founded in 2004. Donavan is the band director at Wedgewood Middle School, Columbus City Schools, where he has been teaching for 10 years.  Also a professional saxophonist and pianist, Mark performs weekly in various local ensembles and bands.

Mark Flugge

Mark Flugge is active in the Central Ohio area as a pianist, composer, educator, and bandleader. He is on the faculty of Capital University and The Ohio State University, and is a former faculty member of the Eastman School of Music. The founder of the Chamber Jazz Series, Flugge's recent concerts on the music of Horace Silver and Bill Evans were included in the Columbus Dispatch's Top 10 Jazz Concerts of the Year. Mark's latest CD "In Love, In Blue" features his arrangement of Gershwin's Rhapsody In Blue, which he also performed with the Columbus Symphony.

(more information can be found at www.markflugge.com)

Jo Ellen Harris

Jo Ellen Harris’s voice has its own sparkle, engaging personality and smile! Precise yet spontaneous, disciplined but playful, Harris commands an amazing range of music with disarming ease, inviting the listener to experience new melodies in a fresh and exciting style.

Harris began performing as a vocalist at age four, made her television debut at age nine and in high school, was the director of Central Ohio's popular music production, Up With People!  Harris completed her BM degree at The Ohio State University in Music Performance and Vocal Music Education.  Following conservatory, Harris performed in cabaret, stage, television and radio in New York City.  

Jo Ellen followed her life long passion and advocacy for young children to public education where she combined her expertise in music and theater in an arts immersion elementary school in Arizona.  When she returned to graduate school at The Ohio State University, she completed her PhD in Creativity Studies.  

Currently, Harris performs sacred music at several local churches and offers private studio instruction in piano and voice. Embracing an amazing diversity of musical and artistic skills, Harris lives her mission of assisting adults and children in discovering the power of the arts and creativity in their daily lives.

Dennis Hodges

Dennis Hodges teaches guitar full-time in Columbus and performs regularly at churches, clubs and private events.  A graduate from Capital University’s Conservatory of Music, Hodges teaches private, group and web-based lessons and assisted in the development of the curriculum for a Rock Band class, which he has taught for the past four years.

Arnett Howard

Since 1985, Arnett Howard has performed more than 5,000 concerts for diverse audiences around the world and at home in Central Ohio. He began as a professional musician in 1967 and has since dabbled in an array of professional fields, from nursing to radio and television announcer. Howard has dedicated much of his life to the study and preservation of music, resulting in a book, Listen For the Jazz: Keynotes in Columbus History, co-authored by Howard. Widely known for composing the hit NBC "Football Friday Night" promo, Howard has also recorded many full-length albums, including Arnett Howard’s Creole Funk Band (1987),
Howard’s Rocket ‘88s (1996), I’m a Walkin’, Talkin’ Pair of Pants (2003), Arnett Howard Christmas (2005) and many others.

Ben Huntoon

Ben Huntoon is the Jazz Education Consultant at Stanton's Sheet Music. As a professional trumpeter, Ben is accomplished in a wide variety of musical genres and is an active freelance musician throughout the Midwest. He teaches trumpet, coaches brass ensembles and is a member of the jazz faculty at Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio. Ben currently serves on the board of the Ohio Chapter of the International Association for Jazz Education.

Jim Masters

A prominent singer, trombonist, composer and educator, James Masters continues to travel the globe, teaching and performing for diverse audiences. His love of music landed him in the bands of such notable artists as Buddy Rich, Tito Puente, Mel Lewis, Clem DeRosa, Jorge Anders, Roy Gerson and The Widespread Jazz. In Columbus, Masters performs with the Columbus Jazz Orchestra, Bobby Floyd, and other local ensembles. An alumnus of Youngstown State University, Masters has garnered numerous awards as an "outstanding soloist," including the Wichita and Elmhurst jazz festivals. He was a member of the first Chicago Jazz Ensemble with Bill Russo and considers himself fortunate to have made music, both live and recorded, with so many great musicians. Masters served for 13 years as a lecturer in jazz studies and jazz trombone at The Ohio State University, and as a vocal jazz instructor at Capital University. He created and leads The American Jazz Experience (AJE), an educational program for the Jazz Arts Group. The AJE has "spread the word," performing for over 200,000 students. Masters was honored to be chosen to create and perform two young peoples concerts with the "Jazz Knights" at the prestigous Westpoint Military Academy. He feels blessed to create new music everyday.

Jay Miglia

Jay Miglia is an active member of the Columbus jazz community as a teacher, saxophonist and composer.  He currently holds teaching positions at Capital University and Otterbein College, where he serves as Jazz Studies Coordinator, and has taught classes for the Jazz Academy since 2005.  Jay regularly appears around the Midwest in clubs and concert settings, as a sideman on recordings, and as a backup musician for an array of jazz and popular music celebrities.  He is a long-time member of the Famous Jazz Orchestra and subs often in the Columbus, Cleveland and Toledo Jazz Orchestras.  Jay’s music has been performed by colleges and high schools around the Midwest and has recently been recorded by the University of Illinois Concert Jazz Band. 

Bradley Sowash

Bradley Sowash is an accomplished composer, educator, critically acclaimed recording artist, and concert jazz pianist who has delighted listeners of all ages in concert halls and churches throughout the United States and Europe for over two decades. He has appeared frequently as a guest artist on the PBS series, The Piano Guy, and is the co-author of its accompanying book, Play Piano in a Flash: The Next Step. Other publications by Sowash include music education books published by the Neil A. Kjos Music Company including the jazz piano method, That's Jazz and several volumes of jazz hymn arrangements published by Augsburg Fortress Press.

An experienced clinician, Sowash often leads teacher training workshops nationwide and is a frequent guest artist for outreach programs in Ohio schools. He also teaches privately to piano students ranging from ages 9S to 70 and is the director the Jazz Workshop, a community-based organization that meets weekly to provide student jazz combos with professional coaching. Last year, he was a part-time lecturer at the Ohio State University Department of Dance, where he taught a course titled "Music Skills."

Todd Stoll

Todd Stoll has been a leading advocate in jazz education for more than 20 years. As a performer, bandleader, educator and archivist he has dedicated his career to expanding the awareness of jazz for students and the general public alike. Currently, Stoll hold the position of High School Music Curriculum Coordinator for Westerville City Schools and teaches both instrumental and vocal jazz ensembles. He is a past President of the Ohio IAJE and served as the first OMEA Jazz Events Coordinator. His ensembles have garnered numerous awards at festivals and competitions throughout the US and he holds the distinction of being the only director to have two separate bands selected as finalists for Jazz at Lincoln Center’s prestigious Essentially Ellington Competition. As founder and leader of the Columbus Youth Jazz Orchestra (CYJO), Stoll has led the ensemble on several International tours in both Europe and South America, self-produced 6 CDs, and collaborated with many renowned jazz artists including, among others, Clark Terry, John Faddis, Jimmy Heath, Wess Warmdaddy Anderson, John Fedchock, Sean Jones, Wycliffe Gordan, Joe Henderson, Barry Harris, Wynton Marsalis and CJO Artistic Director Byron Stripling. He is a contributing editor to “Teaching Music through Performance in Jazz” published by GIA. His personal library of scores and music includes one of the largest collections of Duke Ellington literature in the Midwest.

David Tolley

David Tolley is a Grammy-nominated, internationally-renowned pianist, composer and producer. He has performed at the White House, written and recorded music for Euro Disney, and recorded more than 15 albums, including I Love America and Great Love Themes, Volume 1-4.

Tolley graduated from Fort Hayes Performing Arts School in Columbus. He earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Music Theory, Composition and Piano Performance and his Doctorate in Music Composition from The Ohio State University.

(more information can be found at www.usrecords.com/tolley)

Kie Watkins

Kie Watkins is the Director of the Columbus Youth Jazz Studio Ensemble, part of JAG’s Youth Jazz Program. Watkins received his Bachelors degree in Music Education and Masters in Educational Leadership from the Ohio State University (1994, 2003). He is currently completing his PhD in Music Education.  Watkins is an international endorsing artist for Conn-Selmer and plays exclusively on their instruments. He also performs regionally with a variety of ensembles and is in the proofreading stages of completing his method book for wind bands.