Bio

Greg Simon, composer and jazz trumpeter, holds a B.A. from the University of Puget Sound and an M.M. from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He is currently on the faculties of the University of Colorado and the Metropolitan State College of Denver.

Greg studied composition with Carter Pann, Daniel Kellogg, Richard Toensing and Robert Hutchinson, and has worked in masterclass with Alan Fletcher, Michael Daugherty, Mark Anthony Turnage, Martin Bresnick, Forrest Pierce, Marilyn Shrude, and Dana Wilson. He has also studied with Kevin Puts and Robert Aldridge at the Brevard Music Institute, where he was awarded a fellowship. His works have been performed by the Tasman String Quartet of New Zealand, the Playground Ensemble of Denver, the Fifth House Ensemble of Chicago, and groups in Washington, Oregon, West Virginia, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin. In addition, his work has been performed at national conventions for the Society of Composers, Inc., the College Band Directors’ National Association, the American Band College and the North American Saxophone Alliance. He has won the Edward Levy and George Lynn Prizes for excellence in composition from the University of Colorado, been named an honorable mention in the Fifth House Ensemble’s Young Composer Competition, and been named a finalist in ASCAP’s Morton Gould Young Composer Awards. Foolish Fire for wind ensemble, written for Loveland High School, has been performed in seven U.S. states; its performances include presentations by the California All-State Symphonic Band and performances at multiple Band Directors' and Music Educators' Conferences. Foolish Fire was also a winner of the California State University, Bakersfield’s Guest Composer Competition and selected for the CBDNA Symposium 36 for New Band Music. Greg’s work is featured on recordings by the California State University, Fullerton Wind Ensemble and the Fifth House Ensemble of Chicago.

As a jazz musician, Greg has studied with Brad Goode, Paul Mazzio, and Darmon Meader of the New York Voices. He has been guest soloist with such diverse artists as Ingrid Jensen and Charles MacPherson, and collaborated with the ANALOG Arts Ensemble and Underground Jazz. Currently he performs in the Denver area with the Quartex, the Park Hill Brass, and Signal Z. Recently, he was featured as soloist in Michael Theodore's multimedia presentation What I Saw at the Apocalypse and Hunter Ewen’s Hullo, My Name is Lily Foster. Upcoming collaborations as a performer and composer include work with composer Nathan Wheeler and poet Alaina Ferris.

Greg is a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the mens' music fraternity. He has served on the planning committee and as the media manager for the Pendulum New Music Series, and done work at the Aspen Music Festival and School. He is currently a member of the MELOS Music Composers’ Consortium, a group of nationally-renowned young American composers.