Biography, David Wilken

David Wilken received a Bachelor of Music in composition from Illinois Wesleyan University, a Master of Music in Jazz Studies from DePaul University, and a Doctor of Arts in trombone performance from Ball State University. Past teachers have included Thomas Streeter, Paul McKee, Frank Mantooth, Robert Lark, John Seidel, Larry McWilliams, and Doug Elliott. Dr. Wilken has taught brass and jazz at Indiana Wesleyan University and Adams State College. He now serves as Coordinator of Jazz Studies at the University of North Carolina at Asheville.

As a trombonist, Dr. Wilken has a versatile background performing in a wide variety of styles, including orchestral, solo classical, jazz, big band, rock, salsa, and chamber music. Some of the groups and musicians he has performed with include the Hendersonville Symphony Orchestra, the Blue Ridge Orchestra, the Asheville Jazz Orchestra, the Indianapolis Jazz Orchestra, Guy Lombardo's Royal Canadians, the Glenn Miller Orchestram, Nuevo Montuno, and Stephanie's Id. He continues to perform frequently in local and national groups, as a guest soloist/clinician, and on recitals across the United States.

Dr. Wilken also composes and arranges music for jazz ensembles. He has written commissioned compositions or arrangments for the Trinidad High School Jazz Ensemble, Clemson University Jazz Ensemble, Souled Out Band, the Indianapolis Jazz Orchestra and others. The IJO has recorded several of Dr. Wilken's compositions and arrangments on their 2004 debut release, Cook the Books.

In addition to teaching jazz at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, Dr. Wilken also serves as Reviews Editor for the Online Trombone Journal. Dr. Wilken is also currently serving as the North Carolina president of the International Association for Jazz Education.