Richard (Rick) Lawn is the recently retired Dean of the College of Performing Arts at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia (uarts.edu) where he now holds a professorship in the School of Music. He was the Founding Director of Jazz Studies, Chair of the Department of Music, and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin.
Before joining the Texas faculty Rick was Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Northern Iowa. Rick holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the Eastman School of Music where his principal teachers were Rayburn Wright, Bill Dobbins, Chuck Mangione and William Osseck.
Grants from the National Endowment of the Arts have supported his work as a composer, and as a member of the Nova Saxophone Quartet he has recorded on the Musical Heritage Society, Crystal and Equilibrium labels. He has also served on the IAJE Board and contributed numerous articles to this organization’s journal as well as the MENC Journal and the Instrumentalist magazines.
The Sea Breeze record label issued Unknown Soldiers, a CD recorded by the Third Coast Jazz Orchestra featuring his compositions and arrangements. Kendor, CL Barnhouse, Walrus, Concept Music, Alfred, Dorn, and UNC Press music among others publish his compositions included on this web site.
Rick’s books entitled The Jazz Ensemble Directors Manual, Jazz Theory and Practice, and Experiencing Jazz (that includes interactive software) have become staples among jazz educators and students.
He has performed with artists such as Lionel Hampton, Chuck Mangione, Rosemary Clooney, The Rochester Philharmonic and Austin Symphony among many others including numerous Broadway shows. Selmer has sponsored his clinics, performances guest conducting appearances in 12 states.
Rick continues to perform with COMPASS, a jazz quartet that has been playing together for nearly 40 years! You can learn about the quartet, it’s summer & fall performance schedule, and the exciting jazz cantata “What is Man?” offered by the quartet.
