PUBLIC BENEFIT CONCERT BIOGRAPHIES

JEFF NEVIN, Professor of Music & Director of Mariachi Activities (Southwestern College)

Jeff Nevin, Ph. D., works professionally as a classical trumpet player, mariachi trumpeter and soloist, and a conductor specializing in the interpretation of Mexican music. Currently he works as Professor of Music and Director of Mariachi Activities at Southwestern College in Chula Vista, CA, where he devised and is now offering the world’s first college degree in mariachi music. He is a founding member of the Mariachi Scholarship Foundation that has awarded $500,000 to students pursuing careers in music. Dr. Nevin founded the San Diego International Mariachi Summit which brings together top musicians, dancers, teachers, historians and historical figures to promote mariachi music and education. Classrooms across the United States and Mexico use his book, “Mariachi Master,” to help mariachi students become better musicians.

LORENZO TRUJILLO, Affiliate Professor of Music, Mariachi

Lorenzo A. Trujillo, Ed.D., J.D. grew up in Denver and spent many summers in Arroyo Seco, New Mexico (eight miles outside of Taos) with his extended family. He was highly influenced by his aunt, Eva Nuánez, as a vocalist, guitarist, and violinist. He is the Director of the Mariachi Program at Metropolitan State University in Denver. As a musician, dancer, and culture bearer, Lorenzo was awarded the Colorado Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts. He was inducted into the Colorado Chicano Music Hall of Fame and has served on the National Endowment for the Arts as a performing artist, grants panelist, and arts program evaluator. He was also named a Colorado Folk Artist and Master Teacher by the Colorado Council on the Arts through the Master/Apprentice Program and in 2012 was awarded the Tesoro de Oro by the Tesoro Cultural Center. Lorenzo co-founded the Southwest Musicians in the late 1980’s, recording several musical standards that are part of a vast repertoire of regional social dances and popular Mexican music of the early and mid-twentieth century. He has toured in Italy, Peru, Ireland, Mexico and throughout the Southwest United States. He holds a Doctorate in Education and Juris Doctorate Degrees (Ed.D., J.D.) and served as Assistant Dean and Professor at the University of Colorado School of Law.

MB KREUGER, Professor of Music, Choirs

Professor MB Krueger is the Director of Choral Activities at Metropolitan State University of Denver, where she directs the Chorale, University

Treble Choir, and University Basso Choir, and teaches Basic and Advanced Conducting. She earned her bachelor’s degree at Michigan State University, where she was a National Merit Scholar, and her master’s degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. MB is an active member of American Choral Directors Association in Colorado and hosts the annual Choral Celebration, a highly regarded high school choral festival. She is a member of the fully-professional St. Martin’s Chamber Choir and is a staff singer at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. MB has also sung professionally with the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, the Santa Fe Opera, and the Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado.