Northwestern University
Bienen School of Music
General News
Press Release November 27, 2007

CONTACT: Judy Moore at (847) 491-4819 or jkm229@northwestern.edu

FOR RELEASE: November 27, 2007

Digital images available on request

PDF version of this release

Victor L. Goines Appointed Director of Jazz Studies
at Northwestern University School of Music


EVANSTON, Ill. --- Clarinetist, saxophonist and educator Victor L. Goines has been appointed as director of jazz studies and professor of music by Toni-Marie Montgomery, dean of the Northwestern University School of Music. It was announced that Goines will join Northwestern’s music faculty in spring 2008.

Goines has an extensive background as a jazz educator and as a performer. For the past seven years he served as artistic director of the Jazz Studies Program at the Juilliard School in New York. He also actively tours with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and has collaborated with many of the leading artists in jazz and popular music.

“Our two-year search has resulted in the identification of the ideal candidate -- an internationally recognized artist-pedagogue,” said Dean Montgomery. “I am confident that Victor Goines will transform the Northwestern jazz program, making it a center for the performance and study of jazz, and a source of pride for the School of Music, the University, and the Evanston and Chicago area communities.”

Goines said, “Northwestern University is the ideal place for jazz study. The University’s dedication to research, performance excellence and outstanding teaching are exactly the elements that produce superb jazz players. I am thrilled to be joining the School of Music faculty.”

Goines has been a member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and the Wynton Marsalis Septet since 1993. With these legendary ensembles he has toured worldwide and has performed on more than 20 recordings, including Marsalis’ Pulitzer Prize-winning “Blood on the Fields” (Columbia Records), Jazz at Lincoln Center’s “CongoSquare” (JALC) and the soundtracks for three Ken Burns’ documentaries, including “JAZZ,” “Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson” and “The War: A Ken Burns Film.”

Goines also is a renowned solo artist. He leads his own quartet and quintet, having made seven recordings with them, including “New Adventures” and “Love Dance,” both on Criss Cross Records. Among the many noted jazz and popular artists with whom he has collaborated are Terence Blanchard, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ruth Brown, Ray Charles, Bo Diddley, Bob Dylan, Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Green, Lionel Hampton, Freddie Hubbard, B.B. King, Lenny Kravitz, Branford Marsalis, Ellis Marsalis, James Moody, Dianne Reeves, Marcus Roberts, Diana Ross and Stevie Wonder.

Goines can be heard performing on the soundtracks for the films “Undercover Blues,” “When Night Falls On Manhattan” and “Rosewood,” as well as on music videos featuring artists Chick Corea, Garth Fagin, Bobby McFerrin, Wynton Marsalis, Marcus Roberts and Linda Ronstadt.

A gifted composer as well, Goines has more than 50 original works to his credit. The Juilliard School’s Dance Division commissioned him to compose a jazz score in celebration of its 50th anniversary. The composition “Base Line” was premiered in 2002 to support the original choreography by Juilliard alumnus Robert Battle. Additional commissions have come from Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Throughout his career, Goines has been deeply committed to the field of jazz education. In 2000 he was appointed the first artistic director of the Jazz Program at the Juilliard School and a faculty member in jazz clarinet and saxophone. During his seven-year tenure, the department expanded from a collaborative program with Jazz at Lincoln Center to include formal bachelor and master degree programs. He also has served on the faculties of Florida A & M University in Tallahassee, University of New Orleans, Loyola University in New Orleans and Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans.

A native of New Orleans, Goines began clarinet studies at age 8. He received a bachelor of music education degree from Loyola University in New Orleans in 1984, and a master of music degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond in 1990. He is a Conn-Selmar, Inc. and Vandoren Artist.

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