Kevin Brown

Kevin Brown received a Bachelor of Music in guitar performance from the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music in 2009 and a Master of Music in jazz studies at DePaul University with an emphasis on jazz composition and arranging. As a performer, Brown has shared the stage with jazz icons such as Benny Golson, Phil Woods, Jeff Hamilton, Jimmy Greene, and Jon Irabagon. He has performed at the Chicago Jazz Festival, the Iowa City Jazz Festival, and at some of Chicago’s top venues for jazz, including the Green Mill and the Jazz Showcase. Brown has also presented classical guitar recitals in the Chicago area. Brown has studied with Canadian guitarists Peter Ulrich, Willie Wiebe, David Lektemann, and Larry Roy. He has also studied guitar with Stephen Ramsdell, Norman Ruiz, Scott Hesse and Mike Allemana. Additionally he has had the opportunity to learn from musical greats such as Steve Coleman, Rudresh Mahanthappa, John Patitucci, Gene Bertoncini, Rez Abbasi, and Gary Smulyan.

Prof. Brown joined the Trinity faculty in the fall of 2013. At Trinity he has taught Guitar Class, Private Guitar Lessons and Composition Lessons, Jazz Ensemble, and Composition and Orchestration, as well as Musicianship I. In addition to these responsibilities Brown has developed a guitar studio at the Wheaton College Community School for the Arts teaching Suzuki and traditional guitar lessons. Starting in the fall of 2019, he began serving as adjunct guitar faculty at Olivet Nazarene University. He has also served as Director of the Institute for Jazz Studies at Bellas Artes School of Music since January 2018.

Prof. Brown regularly performs as a freelance musician throughout the Chicago metropolitan area in classical, jazz, pop and flamenco styles, as well as in musical theatre. Additionally he has independently released three albums of original jazz with the Chicago group Mosaik. Brown resides in West Chicago, Ill., with his wife and three children.