Willie
L. Hill
MENC
President 2002-2004
Education:
Grambling State University, Grambling, Louisiana , 1968 -
B.S., Music Education
University of Colorado at Boulder, 1972 - M.M.E., Music
Education
1987 - Ph.D., Music Education, Dissertation title: “A
Comparison of Factors Related to Participation and Achievement in Instrumental
Music at the Middle School Level in the Denver Public Schools”
Work:
University of Massachusetts
* Director, University Fine Arts Center: 1999 -
* Professor, Music Education: 1999 -
University of Colorado at
Boulder
* Professor, Music Education, 1988-1999
* Assistant Dean, Academic Programs, College of Music,
1988-1999
Denver Public Schools,
District #1 (DPS)
Instrumental Music
Instructor:
* Lincoln Elementary, 1968-71
* Hill Junior High, 1971-76
* West High, 1976-81
* Thomas Jefferson High, 1981-84
Significant Publications:
* “Multicultural Awareness.” The Colorado Music Educator,
Vol. XXXV, No.3, Winter, 1988, p.12.
* “Multicultural Music Education: The 1990s and Beyond,”
The Colorado Music Educator, Vol. XXXVII, No.2, Winter,
1989, p. 20.
* Colorado Multicultural Arts Education Resource Guide,
a resource guide for arts educators, funded by the State
Department of Education, 1991.
* Learning to Sight-Read: Jazz, Rock, Latin, and
Classical Styles, 1994, by Ardsley House, Publishers, Inc., a textbook
designed for use in music education at the secondary and collegiate
levels.
* The Instrumental History of Jazz, N2K, Inc., 1997
* Approaching the Standards, 2000, by Warner Brothers
Publications, play-along series, Volumes 1, 2, 3.
* Approaching the Standards, 2000, by Warner Brothers
Publications, play-along series, Volumes 1, 2, 3 (Rhythm
Section/Conductor Edition)
* Approaching the Standards, 2000, by Warner Brothers
Publications, play-along series ( Vocal Edition)
* “Music Education: Will There Be Musical Excellence In
The 21st Century?” New Ways, Vol. 10, No. 2, Spring, 1995, p.A9.
* “Jazz Central Station: A Welcomed Partnership With
IAJE,” Jazz Educators Journal, Vol. XXVII, No. 6, May, 1996, pp. 26-31.
Musical recordings
* Kendor Vanguard Volume 7 (Jazz Ensemble Charts for
1987)
* Kendor Vanguard Volume 8 (Jazz Ensemble Charts for
1988)
* Live At the Jazz Works (MHM Productions, 1991)
* Hank Feldman/Willie Hill Quintet - Tubesia (Marks
Records,1996)
* Strictly Saxophone Yamaha Artist Series (Delta
Music,1999)
* Got Eyes For You (Seabreeze Records, 2000)
Professional
Accomplishments:
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
at the University of Colorado at Boulder:
Academic Work:
* Teach undergraduate music-education courses, graduate
music-education courses, and jazz- history course.
* Serve as advisor on various dissertation/thesis
committees
Supervise student teachers in music education
Administrative Work:
* Coordinate the student-teacher program in music
education
* Coordinate student recruitment
* Coordinate outreach activities to public and private
schools
* Coordinate the Undergraduate Research Opportunities
Program (UROP)
* CUOP Minority Student Previews
Freelance performer:
the Denver Symphony Orchestra, Ice Capades, Ice Follies and
with such luminaries as; George Burns, Liza Minneli, Lena Horne, Ben Vereen,
Lola Falana, Barbara McNair, Arturo Sandoval, Johnny Mathis, Trini Lopez,
Grover Washington, Jr., Jon Faddis, James Moody, Sammy Davis, Jr., Debbie
Reynolds, Grover Washington, Jr., The New York Voices, Stevie Wonder, The 5th
Dimension, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Gladys Knight and the Pips and many
others. Performed in the orchestras of Nelson Riddle, Chuck Mangione, and Pat
Williams as well as the big bands of Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, Rich
Matteson, Rob McConnell, and Woody Herman.
Guest Soloist:
University of Denver Jazz Ensemble, University of Colorado
Jazz Ensemble, University of New Mexico Jazz Ensemble, University of Wisconsin
Jazz Ensemble (Eau Claire, WI0, Reno Jazz Festival Big Band (University of
Nevada at Reno), Western New Mexico University Jazz Ensemble, Central State
University Jazz Ensemble, Black Hills State University Faculty Jazz Combo,
Garden City Community College Jazz Ensemble, Chadron College Jazz Ensemble
(Nebraska), Albuquerque Jazz Orchestra (New Mexico),Oklahoma Summer Arts
Institute Jazz Ensemble (Lone Wolf,
OK.), Colorado Music Festival Orchestra, Casper College Jazz Ensemble, Friends
University Jazz Ensemble (Kansas), Jazz West Jazz Ensemble (Perth, Australia),
Perth Modern Jazz Orchestra (Perth, Australia), The Queensland Youth Big Band
(Brisbane, Australia), Hutchinson Community College Jazz Ensemble (Kansas),
Denver Broncos Jazz Ensemble, International Association of Jazz Educators
Convention, Wright Wyoming H.S. Jazz Ensemble, Leadville H.S. Jazz Ensemble,
Olatha HS Jazz Ensemble, Jeffco All-County Jazz Ensemble, Cheyenne Wyoming Jazz
Bash ‘90, Boettcher Concert Hall (Martin Luther King Celebration), Adams State
College, Gillette Wyoming Concert Hall, Ft. Collins Jazz Festival, KUVO All
Stars, Glenwood Springs Jazz Festival with Clark Terry, Telluride Jazz
Festival, Breckenridge Jazz Festival, Sangres Mountain Jazz Festival, Brandon
Jazz Festival (Brandon, Manitoba), Gibson Jazz at the Paramount Theater, Clark
Terry Great Plains Jazz Camp at Central State University, Clark Terry Great
Plains Jazz Camp at Emporia State University, Kendor Music, Inc. Promo
Recordings, El Paso Commmunity Jazz Orchestra (El Paso, TX); New Mexico State
University Jazz Ensemble (Las Cruces, NM); The Schwanhof (Luhe-Wildenau,
Germany), Peoria All-City Jazz Ensemble (Chicago,IL.),Central City Jazz
Festival, etc.
Guest Conductor:
Arizona All-State Jazz Ensemble, Colorado All-State Jazz
Ensemble, Illinois All-State Jazz Ensemble, Kentucky All-State Jazz Ensemble,
Vermont All-State Jazz Ensemble, Kansas All-County Jazz Ensemble, Las Vegas
All-County Jazz Ensemble, Denver Public Schools Citywide High School Jazz
Ensemble, Denver Public Schools Symphonic Honor Band, Boulder All-County
Elementary Symphonic Band, Pikes Peak Honor Band, Platt M.S. Band Festival,
Arkansas City H.S. Jazz Ensemble, East H.S. Concert Band (Colorado Springs,
CO), Scottsbluff H.S. Concert Band & Jazz Ensemble (Nebraska), Greeley
Central H.S. Band, Orchestra, & Choir, Cortez H.S. Jazz Ensemble, NFAA/ARTS
Young Talent Winners (Boston, MA), El Paso Texas Community Jazz Ensemble (Texas),
DPS Citywide Seventh Grade Symphonic Band, Chadron State College Jazz Ensemble,
The Denver Concert Band, El Paso Community Jazz Ensemble (Texas), The
Albuquerque Jazz Orchestra (New Mexico), Westminster Spring Band Festival, DPS
summer production of “West Side Story,” Schwayder Theater’s production of “Two
Gentleman of Verona,” Mapleton High School Honor Band, Graland Country Day Year
End Pageant, The 1996 Mile High All Star Jazz Ensemble (CBA-Colorado), etc.
Delegate, Colorado Education Association Convention(CEA)
* State Delegate, National Education Association (NEA),
Portland, Oregon
* Member, Official Black Caucus, NEA
* Member, Board of Directors, Denver Classroom Teachers
Association
* Member, Board of Directors, Black Educators United
* Member, Credentials Committee, CEA Delegate Assembly
* State Delegate, NEA Convention, Miami, Florida
* Member, Advisory Council, Young Audiences
* Delegate, American Federation of Musicians Convention
* Member, Black Association of School Administrators
* Member, Colorado Association of School Executives
* Director of Education, the Thelonious Monk Institute of
Jazz
Included in the first edition of Who’s
Who Among Black Americans
* Who’s Who Among International Musicians
* Certificate of Appreciation, “Outstanding Service to
Jazz Education,” IAJE
* Award, “Outstanding Organizational, Promotional, and
Developmental Progress in Support of Jazz Education,” IAJE
* Founder, The Rich Matteson-Telluride Jazz Academy
* Director, The Rich Matteson-Telluride Jazz Academy
* Founder, Rich Matteson Mile High Jazz Camp, University
of Colorado at Boulder
* Director, Rich Matteson Mile High Jazz Camp, University
of Colorado at Boulder
* Certificate of Recognition for Outstanding Achievement
in Music Education, The Rocky Mountain Musicians Association
* Award, “Outstanding Community Contributions in 1994,”
Black Alumni Association
* Jazz Education Achievement Award, Downbeat Magazine,
2000
* Lee Berk Jazz Educator of the Year Award, 2000
Dr. Willie Hill is Director of the Fine Arts Center at the
University of
Massachusetts/Amherst and a Professor in Music Education. He
received his
B.S. degree from Grambling State University and earned M.M.
and Ph.D.
degrees from the University of Colorado-Boulder. Dr. Hill
was a Professor
in Music Education, and the Assistant Dean at the College of
Music at the
University of Colorado-Boulder for eleven years; and,
Director of Education
for the Thelonious Monk Institute. Prior to his tenure at
the University of
Colorado, Hill taught instrumental music and served as
instrumental music
supervisor for 20 years in the Denver Public Schools (DPS).
His professional activities in the Denver/Metro area
included the following:
a former member of the Denver Broncos Jazz Ensemble, a
regular performer at
the Denver Auditorium Theater, Paramount Theater, Boettcher
Concert Hall and
a variety of nightclubs; guest soloist with the Garden City
Community
College, Hastings College, the University of Colorado, and
the University of
Denver Jazz Ensembles; a freelance performer with George
Burns, Liza
Minneli, Lena Horn, Lou Rawls, Ben Vareen, Lola Falana,
Johnny Mathis, Sammy
Davis Jr., Dizzy Gillespie, James Mody, Jon Faddis, and many
others. As a
woodwind specialist, he has been a faculty member of the
Clark Terry Great
Plains Jazz Camp; Founder and Co-Director of the Rich
Matteson-Telluride
Jazz Academy, and the Mile High Jazz Camp in Boulder, CO.
The Colorado
Clarinet Choir was chosen to represent the United States in
London, England
(1984) at the International Clarinet Symposium and Dr. Hill
was a member of
that touring organization. His conducting experiences
include numerous DPS
Citywide Honor performances, All-State Jazz Ensembles,
All-County Bands,
Musical Director at The Schwayder and Bonfils Theaters.
He is currently President of MENC: National Association for
Music
Education; Past-President of the International Association
of Jazz Educators
(IAJE); a member of the writing team for MENC's Vision 2020;
a member of the
national board of directors for Young Audiences, Inc.; and
is Past-President
of the Colorado Music Educators Association, and Pi Kappa
Lambda. In
January, 2001 Dr. Hill was the recipient of the prestigious
Lawrence Berk
Leadership Award presented by the International Association
of Jazz
Educators. In 1998, he was inducted into the Colorado Music
Educators Hall
of Fame. A national artist/clinician for Yamaha Musical
Instrument Company,
he is co-author of Learning to Sight-Read Jazz, Rock, Latin,
and Classical
Styles (Ardsley House Publication), the author of The
Instrumental History
of Jazz (N2K, Inc.), and Approaching the Standards (Warner
Brothers
Publication, 1999). Hill is listed in the first edition of
Who's Who among
Black Americans and Who's Who among International Musicians.
Sources Used:
Hill, Willie. “Willie Hill Web Site,” Available from
http://www.williehill.com.html; Internet.