SOUTH VALLEY BAND PROJECT-- Bios
South Valley Band Project Bios:
SOUTH VALLEY BAND PROJECT BIOS
Jonathan Vieker is a freelance trumpet player and music educator in the Albuquerque/Santa Fe area. He holds a B.A in Music from Truman State University and an M.M. in Trumpet Performance from the University of New Mexico. He has taught in the New Mexico Jazz Workshop’s Empowerment Through Music program since 2009 and is currently on faculty at the University of New Mexico, where he teaches sight-singing and ear training. In July 2011, he traveled to Boston to attend the Berklee School of Music’s PULSE Training Institute, a week-long seminar which provides certification in the Berklee PULSE Music Method. In addition to his teaching duties with the NMJW and UNM, he maintains a private trumpet studio and can be heard most weekends performing with Café Mocha, an Albuquerque-based salsa band which performs throughout the Southwest.
Nick Baker is a multi-instrumentalist, specializing in percussion. After finishing a BA in music from the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Nick studied at the University of New Mexico where he earned a master’s degree in Percussion Performance. While at UNM, he coordinated the front ensemble of the UNM Spirit Marching Band, taught the Percussion Methods for Music Educators Class and taught private percussion lessons. Now a free-lance artist, Nick plays drum set, vibes, and percussion with several Albuquerque bands: Baracutanga, Wagogo, The Lost Tribes of Mardi Gras, and Paid My Dues Blues Band. Nick composes music for the marimba and for mixed ensembles which he performs at local grower’s markets and other venues. Nick maintains a studio in the North Valley where he teaches private and group music lessons. He has taught African Drumming for the Jazz Workshop’s summer Jazz Camp. Nick’s experience as an educator and performer makes him a perfect fit to teach the South Valley Band Project classes.
John Simms is a Language Arts teacher at Harrison Middle School. He hosts the after-school South Valley Band Project in his F-Hall classroom at Harrison. As well as having helped to found the program and having taught classes, John has been instrumental in keeping music alive at Harrison. He also plays trumpet in Café Mocha.
SOUTH VALLEY BAND PROJECT NEWS:
We are proud to announce that South Valley Band Project is running the state-of-the-art Berklee PULSE™ method software on five brand-new laptops, thanks to the Del Norte Rotary Foundation and the Kerr Foundation. Thank you!