Music Theory with Brock C.

Hey there, I'm Brock! Here's a little more about me: I'm an active composer and professional jazz pianist in the Lawrence/Kansas City area and have been a private piano instructor for over six years. Recently I finished my graduate program at the University of Kansas and have a Master's Degree in Music Composition where I specialized in jazz, film music, and writing for piano education. During my time at KU, I was awarded two Student Music Awards in DownBeat magazine for composition in jazz writing categories in both large ensemble writing, and small group writing. I was also named as an honorable mention in the 2017 New York Youth Symphony First Music Commissions for his piece, "Down to the Wire.", and has arranged large jazz ensemble pieces for Kneebody, Walter Smith Jr. III, Sons of Brasil, and Alaturka. Brock was also named 2nd Place in the Kansas Choral Composition Prize for his SATB piece from Christina Rossetti’s poem, “Echo.” Last year I composed original music for the Museum of Modern Art’s short film series, “How To See” which was listed in the British Film Institute’s list of the Best Video Essays of 2019. I've also worked with American Filmmaker, Brandon Daley's short films "Savasana" which was premiered at the 2016 Slamdance film festival in Utah, "Chicken Tuesdays”, and “Technology Lake” which was one of twelve films selected to compete at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in South Korea and the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival. My work recently has been focused on writing original educational piano literature. In the middle of June 2020 I'll be publishing two piano books of recital solos written for late beginners through early intermediate students called: Five-Finger Jazz! Books 1 and 2. As a performer, I've played jazz piano professionally for several years and was the pianist for KU's top Jazz ensemble when they were awarded "Best Collegiate Large Jazz Ensemble" - Graduate Category in Downbeat Magazine in 2017. I've also played with KU Jazz Ensemble I twice at the renowned Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland and twice at the Jazz à Vienne in Vienne, France.