Rate My Professor Stephen Newcomb

Stephen Newcomb serves as Associate Professor in Jazz at the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University, based at the South Bank Campus in Brisbane. He has held several leadership roles within the Jazz department, including Senior Lecturer, Head of Jazz since at least 2013, and Acting Head of Jazz. Under his guidance, the program has offered students transformative experiences, such as workshops with jazz legends in 2019. Newcomb earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Orchestral Trombone performance from Griffith University. He pursued advanced studies at the Manhattan School of Music, completing a Master of Music in jazz piano performance in 2001. His master's thesis was a composition for the Jazz Philharmonic Orchestra, incorporating big band, strings, percussion, and double winds; he studied with acclaimed jazz composer Jim McNeely. In 2013, Newcomb received his doctoral degree in jazz composition from the Manhattan School of Music.

As an educator, Newcomb teaches jazz piano, jazz arranging, and oversees jazz ensembles at the Queensland Conservatorium. He contributes to higher degree research as a supervisor and convenor for the Master of Music program. His pedagogical approach explores jazz as a process, developing artistic practice for composers, performers, and arrangers. Newcomb maintains an active performance career, delivering solo improvised recitals such as the Kawai Series at Queensland Conservatorium. He has composed works including "Pluto and the Sun," released in 2023 through Griffith Figshare. Through his multifaceted roles in performance, composition, arranging, and education, Newcomb shapes the next generation of jazz musicians, fostering innovation and excellence in jazz studies at Griffith University.