Chris Bruya has been involved in jazz education for over 30 years, teaching high school, community college and university. As Director of Jazz Activities at Central Washington University he has pioneered a hybrid improvisation sequence, developed a jazz piano method for non-pianists, and his small and large groups have been invited to appear at Jazz Education Network (JEN) conferences as well as numerous WIBC, WMEA and NAfME conferences. In March 2015 the CWU jazz band placed first at the Next Generation Festival, Collegiate Division, which included a performance at the 2015 Monterey Jazz Festival. The big band appears on the Origin Records CD Show Me! with jazz organist Barney McClure, garnering a 5-star review on allaboutjazz.com. There are over 120 live-recorded youtube videos of the band which have been cited by many as some of the most well-recorded and performed examples of the big band literature. Bruya has served on the Oregon and Washington state music educator boards and is currently Jazz Curriculum Chair for Washington, was an IAJE president of both Washington State and Oregon, and has organized state and Northwest jazz ensembles numerous times. In 2018 Bruya will direct honor jazz ensembles in Texas, Nevada and New York. He is now a Conn-Selmer Clinician and remains busy adjudicating, directing, presenting clinics and teaching nationwide.
Director of Jazz Studies
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