Director

Michael Worthy, Professor of Music at The University of Mississippi, directs the Mississippians Jazz Ensemble, coaches UM Jazz Combos, and teaches music education courses. Under his direction, groups from Ole Miss have performed at the Jazz Education Network National Conference, the Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festival, Jazz à Juan Festival in France and the Umbria Jazz Festival in Italy. He has directed All-District and All-State jazz bands in Arkansas, Tennessee, and Mississippi. He has presented at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, the National Association for Music Education Conference, the Jazz Education Network National Conference, and numerous state conventions. He was commissioned by Oxford University Press to write on jazz education topics in the Grove Dictionary of American Music and the Oxford Handbook of Music Education. He earned his Ph.D. in Music Education at The University of Texas at Austin and his B.M.E. and M.M. at Southwestern Oklahoma State University.