Rate My Professor Richard Kelley

Richard Kelley serves as Associate Professor of Saxophone and Director of Jazz Studies at Southern Illinois University Carbondale since 2008. He also holds the position of Director of the School of Music within the College of Arts and Media. Kelley's academic background includes a Doctor of Musical Arts in Jazz and Improvised Music Studies from the University of Illinois in 2012, a Master of Music in Saxophone Performance from Indiana State University in 2004, and a Bachelor of Music in Saxophone Performance from Millikin University in 2002. His primary teachers were Perry Rask, Debra Richtmeyer, Paul Bro, and Chip McNeill, complemented by studies and masterclasses with artists such as Jean Marie Londeix, Jean Yves Formeau, Nobuya Sugawa, Kenny Garrett, and Glenn Wilson.

A versatile performer active in all saxophone-welcoming genres, Kelley has engaged in numerous performances across the United States, Mexico, Canada, much of Europe, and several Caribbean countries. He has been featured as a concerto soloist with orchestras and bands, guest soloist with jazz ensembles, and performer with touring groups. Notable appearances include the World Saxophone Congress, North American Saxophone Alliance Conference, United States Navy Band Symposium, International Association of Jazz Educators Conference, and Jazz Education Network Conference. A long-term member of the New Arts Jazztet, he has shared stages with luminaries including Jon Faddis, Dick Oatts, Stefon Harris, Doc Severinsen, and Charles McPherson. His playing, described as exciting, engaging, and lyrically beautiful, appears on recordings such as SIU Professor Emeritus Philip Brown’s Arkadia and Vostok Ice Memories from the Liquid Architecture Project, collaborating with Douglas Quin. Kelley composes and arranges for his groups, jazz ensembles, chamber groups, saxophone quartets, soloists, and symphony orchestras. His pedagogical materials and arrangements are published through RiPaRuKe Publishing. Current research explores the Electronic Wind Instrument (EWI), developing DAW frameworks using MIDI foot pedals and software interfaces for vocoder applications in performance. During a Spring 2019 sabbatical, he investigated songwriting practices over 200 years to inform improvisation and arranging, planning a Survey of Song Writing course. He served as an invited speaker at the inaugural Jazz UV Conference in Veracruz, Mexico.