Rick Simerly

Simerly joined Milligan's faculty in 2001 after two decades in music education in the public schools. In addition to serving as band director at T.A. Dugger Junior High School in Elizabethton, TN, since 1979, Simerly has carved out a niche for himself in the professional world of music. He has been called “one of the most exciting and consistently creative trombonists in jazz today” by world-renown jazz educator and composer David Baker. Simerly has not only played in the bands of Tommy Dorsey, Woody Herman, Nelson Riddle and Bob Crosby, but also has performed with jazz greats Billy Taylor, James Moody, Rufus Reid, Jon Faddis, Bobby Shew, Milt Hinton and many others. He has toured with the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra and performed with such entertainers as Frank Sinatra, Jr., Bob Hope, Red Skelton, Lou Rawls, Gladys Knight, The Temptations and The Four Tops. He serves as an instructor at the Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshops, and is an artist/educational specialist for Conn trombones, a division of Conn-Selmer, Inc. He has two solo jazz CDs, Simple/Complexity and Obscurity,  Simerly holds a master of arts degree from East Tennessee State University.  At Milligan, Simerly teaches a variety of music courses and leads a jazz studies emphasis in the music area.  His personal website is www.ricksimerly.com

Curriculum Vitae