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| Peter Curtis, full-time faculty, guitar, lab band, combos, improvisation |
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Peter Curtis is a guitarist, composer and a tenured
professor of music at Riverside City College in Riverside, California.
He has performed or recorded with notable jazz musicians including
Claudia Acuna, Lynn Arriale, Seamus Blake of the Mingus Big Band, Don
Braden, James Carter, Freddy Cole, Barbra Morrison, James Moody, Eldad
Tarmu and Ron Westray of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. With his
group, the Peter Curtis Quartet, he recently released his debut album
Swing State, which is available at cdbaby.com and on itunes.
As
a classical guitarist Peter has given recitals throughout the U.S. and
Canada and was awarded the Andres Segovia memorial scholarship from the
Banff Centre for the Arts. Some of his arrangements for classical
guitar have been performed by guitarists as far abroad as Australia.
He
received his Bachelor of Music degree Magna Cum Laude from the Berklee
College of Music, a Masters of Music degree from Yale University, and a
Doctor of Music in Classical Guitar Performance and Literature with
minor fields in Ethnomusicology and Music History from Indiana
University.
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| Bob Dominguez, part-time faculty, jazz drum set performance |
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Bob Dominguez teaches Drum Set performance. Bob Dominguez studied drums and
Latin percussion with greats such as Joe Porcaro and
Chuck Flores. Bob has performed with artists such
as Les Brown and Latin jazz legend, Willie Bobo, and
given numerous orchestral and jazz performances in
Southern California with the Riverside and San
Bernardino Civic Light Opera, Redlands Bowl Symphony,
and the Inland Empire Symphony. Dominguez also
appeared as the drummer in the 1988 CBS television
series ‘Dirty Dancing.” Bob Dominguez is currently
faculty at the University or La Verne, University of
California at Riverside, and Idyllwild School of Music.
Bob has provided instruction for 22 years at Lier’s
Music Co. in San Bernardino, CA, and has taught at San
Bernardino, Crafton Hills, Chaffey, and Riverside
Community Colleges. Bob Dominguez has worked with
Mark Guerrero for 7 years; in Mark’s cover band, Hot Rox,
Lalo Guerrero with Mark Guerrero & the Second Generation
Band, and Mark Guerrero & Radio Aztlán.
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| Jody Fisher is a part-time faculty member at RCC, teaching guitar and jazz. |
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Jody Fisher was born in South Bend, Indiana and spent most of his
childhood years moving throughout the country. His father, a successful radio
broadcasting figure, and his mother an actress, provided the creative
environment that allowed him to pursue his avid interest in both music and the
guitar. By age eleven, Jody was taking lessons in the Chicago area. During this
time, he also studied with his uncle, jazz guitarist Sid Fisher who had spent
many years as an RCA recording artist. After moving to the West Coast as a
teenager, Jody continued taking lessons with some of the top players living in
the Los Angeles area, including, Herb Ellis, John Collins, and Louis Speigner.
It was during these years that he also attended The Stan Kenton Music Clinics.
Jody eventually began studying with guitarist/bassist, George Stanley, who
started bringing him to gigs and introducing him to other players. From this
point on, Jody made a steady living playing the guitar.
As
a performer, Jody has played virtually every style of music professionally. He
has played many important venues such as the Hollywood Bowl and Universal
Amphitheater. Today, he is primarily known as a jazz artist living in the
Southern California area and has recently worked all over the United States,
Canada, England and Germany. His newest CD, Impromptu, has received critical
acclaim.
Jody
has published over twenty instructional books about jazz guitar with Alfred
Publishing, Workshop Arts Publications, and Mel Bay Publications. Four of his
books have appeared in the Smithsonian Institute's Folkways Exhibition in
Washington, DC. In addition Jody has written for most of the major guitar
magazines, including Guitar Player, Just Jazz Guitar and Finger Style Guitar.
As an
educator, Jody has held the positions of Professor of Jazz and Studio Guitar at
the University of Redlands, in Redlands, CA, the University of La Verne, in La
Verne, CA, and the Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts (ISOMATA), in
Idyllwild, CA. In addition, he has also served as Associate Director of the
National Guitar Workshop as well as Director of the Workshop's Jazz Summit in
the early years of that program. Jody continues to conduct seminars and clinics
all over the country.
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| Kevin Mayse, full-time faculty, directs the Wind Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, Evening Jazz Ensemble and teaches studio trumpet |
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Kevin Mayse is currently the Wind Ensemble/Symphony Orchestra conductor and trumpet instructor at Riverside City College.
As a performer, Mr. Mayse has toured the United States and Japan with Keith Brion and the New Sousa Band, Vince DiMartino and the New Columbia Brass Band, and the California Gold Rush Band. Mr. Mayse was one of the founding members of the Huis Ten Bosch brass ensemble in Nagaski, Japan. Locally he has performed with the Riverside Civic Light Opera, the San Bernardino Civic Light Opera, The San Gabriel Civic Light Opera, the Nelson Riddle Orchestra, Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey’s Circus, the Torrance Symphony, the Rio Hondo Symphony, the Cypress Pops Orchestra and numerous groups at Disneyland. He co leads and plays lead trumpet for the Evening Jazz Ensemble at Riverside City College. He also fronts his own professional big band which has performed with jazz greats Gary Foster, Bill Reichenbach, Marvin Stamm and Bobby Shew.
Mr. Mayse has been the conductor of the California Pops Band which recorded with Sony Records (available only in Japan), The Hawk-Richard Jazz Orchestra which recorded with Sea Breeze records and one of California’s only professional concert bands, The Inland Empire Wind Symphony. He conducts both the Tribute to John Philip Sousa and Tribute to King Karl King honor bands in Riverside County and is very active as a Wind Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble clinician.
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| Joel Paat, part-time faculty, Jazz Piano, Combos and Improvisation |
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Joel Paat teaches Jazz Piano, Improvisation and Combo. Joel Paat Graduated in 1990 from
Cal State Fullerton with a Bachelors Degree in
Commercial Music. His formal piano instructors
include David Berfield, Tom Ranier and Billy Childs.
Joel is no stranger to the stage, he has performed
at the Greenwood Jazz Festival (Tulsa), the North
Sea Jazz Festival (Netherlands), the Ozone Jazz
Festival and the Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland),
as well as many locations in Southern California.
Joel has also played with various people that include
Tom Scott, Bobby McFerrin, Brandon Fields, Danny
Reyes and Vinnie Colaiuta (to name just a few).
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| Charle Richard, full-time faculty, Jazz Ensemble, saxophone, improvisation, composition and arranging |
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Charlie Richard is a Professor of Music at Riverside City College. He is Co-chair of the Department of Performing Arts, directs Jazz Ensemble I and teaches studio saxophone and improvisation. Richard received his Bachelor and Masters degrees from California State University Los Angeles, where he studied composition and arranging with Bob Curnow, David Caffey and William Hill. Richard later completed graduate work at the University of Texas at Austin where he studied saxophone with Harvey Pittel and composition and arranging with Rick Lawn. While a student at the University of Texas in 1989 he received the downbeat magazine award for Best Extended Original Jazz Composition. In 1998 "The Hawk's Out," an album featuring his compositions and arrangements by the Hawk-Richard Jazz Orchestra, was selected by New York’s Cadence Magazine as its Outstanding Big Band Recording of the year. In 1999 he directed the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association High School Jazz All-Stars. Mr. Richard is on the faculty of the Idyllwild Arts Summer Jazz Camp and his compositions are available from Walrus Publications.
Artists that Richard has played with include: The Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Long Beach Symphony, Pasadena Symphony, Lou Rawls, The Temptations, The Four Tops, The Nelson Riddle Orchestra, Legends of Swing, Doris Day, Redlands Symphony Orchestra, Mark Masters Jazz Composers Orchestra and Hip Pocket. Mr. Richard is also a Past-President of the California Unit of the International Association for Jazz Education.
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| James Rocillo, part-time faculty, directing the Jazz Lab band |
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James Rocillo is a part-time instructor at RCC. He is also a professional musician & been a music educator for the past 21 years. He has studied with trumpet greats, Bobby Shew, Tony Lujan, Ron Stout, Sal Cracchiolo, Rob Roy McGregor, Bob Slack and Charlie Davis. As a musician he works as a freelance artist in the fields of both classical and jazz. He has performed throughout California, as well as Canada, Hawaii, and Japan. James studied music at Long Beach City College, Citrus College and Cal State University Northridge. In 2008 James earned his Bachelors degree in Business Marketing from the University of Phoenix.
James is in charge of the brass program for the marching band as well as being the Director of The Lab Jazz Ensemble. As an adjudicator James has judged throughout California as well as in Missouri, Seattle, and Nebraska. In the Drum Corps world he has worked with Yamato Drum & Bugle Corps (Osaka, Japan) and the Concord Blue Devils B corps. He has been a caption head for the Troopers Drum and Bugle Corps (2001-2003) and Esperanza Drum and Bugle Corps (2004). From 2005-2007 he was on the brass staff of the six time DCI Champions Santa Clara Vanguard. In 2008 James joined the brass staff of the 12 time DCI Champions Concord Blue Devils.
James resides in Chino Hills CA, where he lives with his beautiful wife Stacey and their dog Henry.
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| Steve Schmidt, full-time faculty, theory, percussion, composition and technology |
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Steve Schmidt was raised in Riverside, California. He
began studying percussion at California State University, Fullerton
under the tutelage of Todd Miller. After receiving a Bachelor of Music
in Percussion Performance from CSU, Fullerton, Steven went on to earn a
Master of Music in Percussion Performance from the University of
Southern California, studying percussion with Erik Forrester and
composition with Stephen Hartke and Frederick Lesemann. Steven has
received commissions for compositions from Riverside Community College,
the University of California, Riverside Department of Theater, the
California State University, Fullerton Clarinet Ensemble, the Irvine
Valley College Wind Ensemble, Upland High School and the University of
Southern California Theater Department, for whom he composed music for
their 1994 production of Bertold Brecht's Caucasian Chalk Circle. His
wind ensemble composition Spin has been performed by Riverside
Community College, the California Music Academy, the University of
Northern Arizona, Washington State University and numerous high
schools. His latest works Southern California Portrait for wind
ensemble and Helios for jazz ensemble were recently premiered by the
Riverside City College Performing Arts Department.
Mr.
Schmidt's performances include a recording of Edgar Varese' Ionisation
with the Ensemble Modern (a recording produced by Frank Zappa) and the
soundtrack to Mr. Holland's Opus starring Richard Dreyfuss. Steven has
also performed with the Orange County Pacific Symphony, the Capistrano
Valley Symphony, the Southwest Chamber Symphony, Downey Civic Light
Opera, Costa Mesa CLO and South Bay CLO. Additionally, Steven has
participated in many independently contracted performances with artists
such as Peabo Bryson, Ray Charles, Shirley Jones, Bernadette Peters,
Don Rickles, Peter Setera, Doc Severinson and Dionne Warwick.
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| Rick Shaw, part-time faculty, jazz bass, combos and Business of Music |
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Rick Shaw spent three seasons with the Sacramento Symphony before attending Eastman School of Music. At Eastman he performed in their Philharmonia Orchestra and completed the Jazz Studies program with a Masters of Music degree in 1981.
In 1983 Rick moved to Los Angeles and began working freelance. Since then he has toured with the 60's vocal group The Lettermen, and jazz artists Buddy Rich and Maynard Ferguson, also recording with Maynard on his first High Voltage CD. He also tours regularly with Johnny Mathis.
In addition to being a regular with the Big Phat Band, Rick also plays with Bill Holman and Chick Corea. As an educator at Riverside Community College he teaches bass students and small ensembles, and his students have won acclaim and their division at the Reno Jazz Festival.
As a sideman, Mr. Shaw has recorded commercials and TV shows such as “JAG,” “King of the Hill” and “The Simpsons.” Recordings for vocalists include Julio Iglesias, Willie Nelson, Aaron Neville, Celine Dion, Beck, and Ray Charles. He’s also performed in orchestras for movies such as “Freaky Friday,” “National Treasure” and “Legally Blonde II.”
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| Steve Williams, part-time faculty, studio trombone |
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Steven Williams, trombone,
attended the University of Tennesee at Knoxville and the University of
Southern California, earning a Bachelors and a Masters respectively.
A freelance musician for the past twenty years and has performed with such local ensembles as the Los
Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Master Chorale Sinfonia, Pasadena
Symphony Orchestra, as well as many other local freelance groups.
Nationally, he performs in the Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra under the
direction of Helmuth Rilling. As a recording musician he has
perform for commercials, television, and motion pictures. He currently teaches
at Riverside City College. He resides in Sierra Madre with his wife
and three children.
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