Isrea L. Butler


Member, Nominating Committee
Appointed November 2022; term ends November 2023

Isrea L. Butler is currently Music Department Head at Valdosta State University. He was the Music Department Chair at North Carolina Central University and Professor of Trombone from 2017-2021. Other positions held include Director of Bands and Music Program Coordinator at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore; Director of Jazz Studies and Low Brass at the University of Mary; and Visiting Assistant Professor of Trombone at Jackson State University.

As well as being a founding member of the Gateways Brass Collective, Professor Butler is the lead trombonist of the Legendary Count Basie Orchestra and has performed with many of New York City’s top jazz ensembles. He has played trombone and tuba for eight Broadway productions. He has toured, recorded, and performed with many of the country’s leading jazz orchestras including Cab Calloway, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, Mingus Big Band, Glenn Miller, Birdland Big Band, Chico O’Farrill Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra, and the Jimmy Heath Orchestra.

At home playing classical music, he has performed with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Rochester Philharmonic, Buffalo Philharmonic, Gateways Music Festival Orchestra, and the Colour of Music Festival Orchestra. Professor Butler is a Conn-Selmer clinician and performing artist.

As a conductor, Professor Butler has been the conductor of the UMES Wind Ensemble, HBCU Trombone Choir, Associate Conductor of the Brighton Symphony, and Eastman Trombone Choir and Brass Guild. He studied conducting with Jeff Jordan, Brad Lubman, William Weinert, Mark Scatterday, and Kynan Johns.

Professor Butler holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Rutgers University, and Master of Music and Bachelor of Music degrees from the Eastman School of Music, all in Trombone Performance. His teachers have included John Marcellus, Ralph Sauer, George Roberts, Tom Ervin, Michael Powell, and Weston Sprott.

__________________
Posted December 2022