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Edward Partyka
About Me
Ed Partyka is a bass trombonist/tubist, composer/arranger and
conductor. Originally from Chicago Illinois, he received a BA degree
from Northern Illinois University before moving to Germany in 1990. He
completed a Masters Degree in jazz trombone performance at the
Conservatory of Music in Cologne, where he was also a member of the
G.E.M.A. Jazz Composers Workshop, led by Bob Brookmeyer. He was
recipient of the 2000 “A.S.C.A.P. / I.A.J.E. Commission Honouring the
Centenary of Louis Armstrong”. He was 1st prize-winner of the 1998
“NDR Musikpreis” (Hamburg), 1st prize winner of the Jazz Composers
Alliance 1998 Julius Hemphill Composition Awards (Boston) and finalist
in the 1996 HR Emerging Composers Competition (Frankfurt).
Ed has toured and recorded with the Bob Brookmeyer New Art
Orchestra, Vienna Art Orchestra, Carla Bley, WDR Big Band, NDR Big
Band, Mnozil Brass, Gansch & Roses and the Roman Schwaller Nonet.
He leads the Ed Partyka Jazz Orchestra, is musical director of the Jazz
Orchestra Regensburg and is Co-Leader of the Flip Philipp/Ed Partyka
Dectet. Ed was musical director of the Concert Jazz Orchestra Vienna
from 1999 – 2006 and the Sunday Night Orchestra from 2000 – 2007.
Mr. Partyka has appeared as a guest conductor with the HR Big Band,
NDR Big Band, RIAS Big Band, RTV Big Band Slovenia, Summit Jazz
Orchestra, Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, West Australian Youth Jazz
Orchestra, Generations Festival Big Band, Zürich Jazz Orchestra,
Jazzgroove Mothership Orchestra, Klüvers Big Band, Jazz Orchestra
of the Concertgebouw, Sandvika Storband, Milan Svoboda´s Prague Big
Band, Oslo Workshop Big Band and the German National Youth Jazz
Orchestra (“BuJazzO”).
Also active in the area of jazz education, Ed Partyka has held teaching
positions at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Germany and the
Conservatory of Music in Vienna. He is currently Professor for Jazz
Theory & Composition and department chairman of the Jazz Institute at
the “Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst” in Graz, Austria. Mr.
Partyka was “Artist in Residence” at the West Australian Academy of
the Performing Arts in 2006 and has given workshops and
masterclasses throughout Europe. In addition, he was “Visiting
Professor of Jazz Composition” at the Academy of Music in Katowice,
Poland from 2008 – 2010.