Award winning Canadian trumpet player/composer Dean McNeill regularly performs in both the classical and jazz idioms. Dean has been a University of Saskatchewan Dept. of Music faculty member for the past 19 years over which time he has performed and adjudicating throughout Canada and the United States.

A full professor Dean has been the recipient of the Saskatchewan Jazz Festival’s Special Recognition Award, UofS’s Student Union Teaching Excellence Award, UofS Dept. of Music’s Dwaine Nelson Teaching Award, and, a Downbeat Magazine big band arranging award. Dean has been the Artistic Director of the Saskatoon Jazz Orchestra since the SJO’s inception and he has lead many special musical productions such as the Kenderdine Campus Jazz Composer’s Retreats, Saskatoon’s Mayor’s Gala, Persephone Theatre’s Fabula gala, the SaskTel Jazz Festival’s Jazz Intensive student workshop program, a Saskatchewan Arts Board Gala, and, the Texas Lone Star Film Awards gala.

Dean has performed at the Western Canadian Music Awards (numerous times), as soloist on the Juno award winning CD O Music, and, he has performed with the likes of Hugh Fraser, Tommy Banks, Wycliffe Gordon, Dee Daniels, Brad Turner, Kelly Jefferson, David Braid, Bobby Caldwell, Bob Mintzer, Denzal Sinclaire, PJ Perry, and Ingrid Jensen, and Jon Balantyne.

Photo by Aaron Brown