GRAMMY Music Educator Award Finalist (2022) and Yamaha Performing Artist Bethany Robinson currently serves as the Director of Jazz at Purdue University (July, 2024).

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In 2011, Bethany received her first Lilly Teacher Creativity Grant, and traveled to New Orleans and New York City, exploring the current trends of jazz in those two cities. She attended the Band Director Academy at Jazz at Lincoln Center, composed her first piece for big band, and came home to Noblesville High School with a whole new concept of jazz pedagogy at the secondary level. Putting her new-found inspiration in practice, her jazz program at Noblesville expanded from 1 to 6 high school big bands over the next 10 years, and the top band made regular appearances at the ISSMA Indiana Jazz State Finals, placing first in 2023, additional first place finishes at both Ball State and Purdue University Jazz Festivals, and was a 2-time finalist for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Essentially Ellington Festival and Competition in New York City.

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Awards:

GRAMMY Music Educator Award Finalist

3x GRAMMY Music Educator Award Nominee

Indiana Jazz Educator of the Year

Teacher of the Year, Noblesville (IN) Schools

Indiana Teacher of the Year Semi-Finalist

Jazz Hero by the Jazz Journalists Association

Indiana High School Music Educator of the Year

Lilly Creative Teaching Fellow #1 (Exploring Jazz in NOLA & NYC)

Lilly Creative Teaching Fellow #2 (Exploring Jazz in Brazil)

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Service:

Director of Jazz, Purdue University

Executive Board, Jazz Education Network

Member, Recording Academy

Chair, National Association for Music Educator Council for Jazz Education

​Past-President, Indiana Jazz Educators Association

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Leadership/Impact/Program Development:

Created Indiana All-District Jazz Annual Event

Created Annual Junior All-State Jazz Ensemble

Indiana All-State Jazz Combo Featured Concert at Indy Jazz Fest

Co-Leads Annual Indiana Jazz Girls Day

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Guest University Lectures:

Ball State University

Indiana University

Butler University

Vanderbilt University

Purdue Fort Wayne

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Guest Adjudicator:

Essentially Ellington Regionals

(Newark, Orlando, North Carolina)

Butler Jazz Festival

Vanderbilt University

Southeast Missouri State University

Elizabeth City State University

Western Australian Schools' Jazz Festival, Perth

Victoria Schools' Jazz Festival, Melbourne

Ball State University

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In September 2021, Bethany was a keynote speaker for the Australia National Band and Orchestra Conference, speaking on topics like building jazz culture, teaching jazz for those new to jazz, and building leaders through the Jazz Girls Day Event. Bethany was also a presenter at the 2022 Indiana Music Educators Conference, the 2022 International Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago, IL, the Oklahoma Bandmasters Summer Convention, and was the keynote speaker for the 2023 New York State Summer Music Conference. In 2024 Bethany led workshops at the Music For All National Concert Band Festival and workshops and clinics in Perth, Western Australia. Bethany also served as the chief adjudicator for the 2024 Victoria Schools' Jazz Festival in Melbourne, and was most recently the Guest Conductor for the 2024 New York and 2025 Iowa All State Jazz Ensemble. 

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As an avid performer on upright bass, electric bass, and vocals Bethany has performed over the years at the Indy jazz Fest, Indianapolis Jazz Kitchen, The Center for the Performing Arts, Carmel Jazz Fest, the Indianapolis Zoo Jazz Series, Zoobliation, and Irish Fest with many artists including Everett Greene, Sarah Scharbrough, and Katherine Nagy, and has opened for YAMAHA Artist Dave Koz. 

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