Moné Hattori, Violin, JAPAN)

Greg Simon (b. 1985) is a composer and jazz trumpeter hailing from California, by way of Oregon and Colorado. Drawing its inspiration from jazz, funk, Balinese gamelan, Chilean folk song, and street art (among many other sources), his music explores heritage and intersection, aiming to create a common space between the myriad communities it reflects.

Greg’s works have been performed by ensembles and performers around the country, including the Nu Deco Ensemble, Alarm Will Sound, the Moanin’ Frogs, and the Fifth House Ensemble. He has won the NACUSA Young Composers’ Competition, the Brehm Prize in Choral Composition from the University of Michigan, and the POLYPHONOS competition from the Esoterics, and has won awards for excellence in teaching from the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts. Greg’s choral music is published by Mark Foster Music as part of the Eugene Rogers Choral Series, and his works have been recorded on the Terpsichore, SMS Classical, and Fifth House labels.

Greg studied jazz improvisation and composition with Bill Lucas, Ellen Rowe, and Brad Goode. He currently plays with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Faculty Jazz Ensemble, and is an active freelancer in the Omaha-Lincoln area.

Greg received a D.M.A. in composition from the University of Michigan, where he studied with Evan Chambers, Michael Daugherty, Ellen Rowe, and Kristin Kuster. Greg is Assistant Professor of Composition and Jazz Studies at the Glenn Korff School of Music at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Artist-Faculty in composition at the Brevard Music Center. When he’s not composing or playing, Greg enjoys hockey, bourbon and short stories.