Awards

Titled Professor - 2012

Pam and Jack Burks Professor of Music

About Steve Zegree

Internationally recognized as one of the most respected vocal jazz conductors and educators in the world, Steve Zegree serves as the Pam and Jack Burks Professor of Music at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He was a pianist, conductor, clinician, arranger, and adjudicator, having performed on five continents.

A renowned educator, his students are among today's leaders in jazz and pop performance, Broadway, recording studio production, writing, arranging, singing, and music education. In 2012, Zegree was honored by being inducted into the Downbeat Jazz Education Hall of Fame.

Formerly the Bobby McFerrin Distinguished Professor of Music at Western Michigan University, Zegree's internationally acclaimed vocal jazz ensemble, Gold Company, won nearly 50 Outstanding Performance awards from DownBeat magazine. The ensemble has performed at Music Educators National Conference and American Choral Directors Association national conventions, International Association for Jazz Education International Conferences, the World Symposium on Choral Music, several major jazz festivals, and with recognized artists including Bobby McFerrin, Janis Siegel, Kurt Elling, The Manhattan Transfer, Paquito D'Rivera, Bob Mintzer, Jon Hendricks, Darmon Meader, Mark Murphy, Don Shelton, and Bonnie Herman.

He auditioned, arranged for, and rehearsed Nick Lachey's Team Lachey, the winning choir on NBC's Clash of the Choirs. He was the founder of The Steve Zegree Vocal Jazz Camp for high school and college students and teachers.

Zegree's choral arrangements have been published by Hal Leonard, Warner Bros., Alfred Publications, and Shawnee Press, and he produced several recordings, including Mark Murphy Sings the Nat King Cole Songbook, Vol. I and II on Muse Records, which received a Grammy Award nomination. His piano CD, Steve Zegree and Friends, was released on the Sea Breeze Jazz label. As pianist with the Western Jazz Quartet, he recorded four CDs and performed throughout the world. In addition, he performed on keyboards in the national tours of Broadway musicals, including Wicked, The Producers, and Hairspray.

His highly acclaimed first book, The Complete Guide to Teaching Vocal Jazz , was published by Heritage Music Press, a division of Lorenz Music Publishing. His widely praised book, "The Wow Factor: How to Create It, Inspire It, & Achieve It", was published by Hal Leonard Music Publications.