Arranger, composer, trumpeter, and educator Jamey Simmons grew up in Wisconsin and knew at an early age that music was his unique gift. He earned a degree at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and studied with Robert Baca. Simmons earned his master’s degree in jazz and contemporary media at the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with jazz composer and arranger Fred Sturm. He is currently director of jazz studies at Middle Tennessee State University where he teaches courses in jazz and directs MTSU Jazz Ensemble I. Simmons toured internationally with the Glenn Miller Orchestra. He is active in the Nashville professional music scene, and has made appearances with artists as diversified as the Temptations, Buddy DeFranco, Lee Konitz, Vince Gill, Debby Boone, and the Nashville Jazz Orchestra. Simmons has written arrangements and compositions that have been performed by the Glenn Miller Orchestra, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, the Buffalo Symphony Pops, the Nashville Jazz Orchestra, and the Brussels Jazz Orchestra. His recording of hymns and spirituals called In the Garden: Hymns for Piano, was recorded by pianist Arunesh Nadgir, and his duo and trio project, featuring guitarist Rory Hoffman and pianist Matt Endahl, is archived on YouTube. Active as a commissioned composer and arranger, Simmons’s published compositions and arrangements are available through Heritage JazzWorks, the Lorenz Corporation, Sierra Music, and Kjos Music Publishing.