University of North Texas
Denton, Texas
Rich DeRosa received a Grammy nomination for Best Instrumental Composition in 2015 for his big band composition “Neil”. He is a tenured full professor and Director of Jazz Composition and Arranging at the University of North Texas.
In 2012 he began conducting and arranging music for the West Deutsche Rundfunk (WDR) Big Band in Cologne, Germany, and served as its chief conductor from 2014 – 2016. Amongst those projects, Mr. DeRosa arranged and conducted the music of featured legendary jazz bassist Ron Carter on his CD recording My Personal Songbook (2015). Other CDs with the WDR band are Rediscovered Ellington (2017) featuring unique and modern renditions of Duke’s rare and unheard tunes with longtime music partners Garry Dial & Dick Oatts; Crossing Borders (2018) with Richie Beirach and Gregor Huebner. Other world-renowned artist projects under his direction featured Patti Austin, Kurt Elling, Joshua Redman, Stefon Harris, the New York Voices, Marvin Stamm and Bill Mays, Ola Onabulé, and Warren Vaché.
Since 2001, Mr. DeRosa has arranged and conducted music for Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra featuring Reneé Fleming, Norah Jones, Willie Nelson, Annie Ross, Abbey Lincoln, and Toots Thielemans among others. In 2005, DeRosa’s arrangements were featured for the Wynton with Strings concert and for Stephen Sondheim’s musical revue A Bed and a Chair: A New York Love Affair premiered by the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. He also served as conductor and co-arranger for the band’s Bernstein at 100 concerts in November 2017. In 2018 he was commissioned to arrange and conduct the Joey Alexander with Strings concerts.
Other commissioned arrangements have been recorded by the Mel Lewis, Gerry Mulligan, and Glenn Miller big bands, vocalist Susannah McCorkle, rising trumpet star Dominick Farinacci and acclaimed solo violinist Anne Akiko Meyers. Commissioned arrangements for orchestra include the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the New York Pops, the Portland Maine Pops, the Kansas City Symphony – featuring Bobby Watson, and the Television and Radio Orchestra in Stockholm, Sweden. Other European ensembles, including the Stockholm Jazz Orchestra, the Metropole Orchestra in Holland, and the Czech National Symphony have also commissioned his arrangements.
Mr. DeRosa’s publications for public school and professional jazz ensembles are available through e-Jazz Lines, Sierra Music, and Alfred Music.
Mr. DeRosa remains active as an adjudicator, clinician, and guest conductor for school programs and music festivals. More information can be found on his website at richderosa.com.
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How Harmony Can Characterize a Melody
Thursday, January 8, 2026
2:00 PM - 2:50 PM CST
