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Roxanne Jeppesen

Roxanne Jeppesen - drummer, conductor, teacher, music advocate, wife, mom, friend

About Me

Roxanne Jeppesen is a native of Northern California and received her BA from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and MA from the University of Southern California (USC).

Roxanne is currently a part time professor at MSUBillings and has taught Applied Drum-set, Enjoyment of Music, Percussion Pedagogy and Techniques, and K-12 Music Methods.

Roxanne has a K-12 Music Teaching Credential from the State of Montana and California. She is currently working as a part time music teacher for Billings Public Schools, and has also taught music for the Burbank Unified School District and the Sulphur Springs Union School District.

Roxanne recently joined the Board for the 501c3 non-profit organization, Arts Without Boundaries. She is also the President and founder of the 501c3 non-profit organization, Cultivating Creative Minds, with the mission to promote creative programs for young people, partner with schools to organize and execute enrichment programs that promote creative thinking, and to help schools find and sustain funding for creative programs. In 2019, Cultivating Creative Minds employed 32 professional teaching artists who provided 45 minutes of arts instruction per week to over 5,000 students.

Roxanne studied drum-set performance with Billy Higgins, Dan Schnelle, Sherman Ferguson, Rick Lotter, and Stan Lunetta and has performed with many artists around California and Montana including Kenny Burrell, Barbara Morrison, Billy Higgins, Tom Rainer, Scott Jeppesen, Rocky Mountain Jazz Collective, Billings Symphony Orchestra, Golden Oak Community Big Band, Magic City Jazz Orchestra, Billings Community Concert Band, Billings Studio Theater's production of Evita, Billings Studio Theater's production of Elf the Musical, Billings Studio Theater's production of Mama Mia, Nova Center for Performing Arts production of Inside Out, Billings Studio Theater's production of Young Frankenstein, 2nd Avenue Stompers, Reflections Band, Brickhouse Band, Free Spirit Soul, Frequency 852, Delta Bound and Skyview High School’s Spring Pops Concerts.

Roxanne is an active member of the National Association for Music Education and the Montana Music Educators Association. She received an Honorary Award from the Sulphur Springs Union School District, a PTA Honorary Award, a Community Service Award from the Canyon Country Community Association, the Golden Apple Award from the Santa Clarita Valley Association of California School Administrators, the Max H. Gluck Foundation Award for Music Outreach, and was the Valedictorian of Rio Linda Senior High School.

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My Jazz Story

I love jazz because I just do. I was first exposed to jazz by my mother. She loved Miles Davis, Stan Kenton, Wes Montgomery, Bill Evans, Dave Brubeck, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holliday, Sarah Vaughn, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennet, Nancy Wilson, Peggy Lee, June Christy, etc. My Junior High School Band Director fanned the flames by introducing me to a variety of big band music and he gave me my first mix tape with tracks by Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. I learned about Traditional Jazz with the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society's Youth Band, "The New Traditionalists." Other influences in Sacramento, CA came from local musicians: Mike McMullen, Joe Gilman, Steve Russo, Ron Cunhu, Rick Lotter, just to name a few. When I moved to Los Angeles, CA, I met Billy Higgins, Kenny Burrell, Harold Land, Anthony Wilson, Shelly Berg, Dan Schnelle, Josh Nelson, Kamasi Washington, just to name a few. The best show I ever attended was a Roy Haynes show at UCLA's Royce Hall in 2001. The first jazz record I bought was "Blue Light, Red Light," a big band album by Harry Connick Jr. My advice to new listeners, "Relish every chance you get to listen to live music because the sound creates a spiritual connection with every person in the room. The most dedicated musicians strive to produce a sound that will channel love and spiritual energy into the world."