Professor of Music
Music Education, Woodwinds, Jazz

Dr. Tracy Heavner, internationally known music educator and distinguished performance artist, performs from a variety of genres as he greets his audiences with music from the classical era through the premiers of twenty-first century compositions. His talents as a saxophonist, clarinetist and flutist are witnessed on stage as a soloist, chamber ensemble member and within the orchestra. His professional achievements off the stage are equally impressive in the areas of research, education, publishing and community service.

Dr. Heavner serves on the faculty at the University of South Alabama as a professor of saxophone, clarinet, music education and director of jazz studies. As a member of the graduate faculty, he coordinates the music education program, supervises music education student teachers and teaches all university saxophone and clarinet majors. In the area of jazz studies, he directs the University of South Alabama Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Combo, teaches jazz improvisation in the USA Community Arts Program and at the Gulf Coast Jazz Camp. In addition, he teaches a large private studio of middle and high school saxophonists, flutists and clarinetists who consistently place in the top chairs of honor bands, all-state band and orchestra ensembles. Many of them also perform in the Mobile Symphony Youth Orchestra. For more information on applied lessons or to schedule a lesson with Dr. Heavner, email him at theavner@jaguar1.usouthal.edu.

Dr. Heavner earned a doctorate degree in music education with a secondary emphasis in jazz studies from the University of Northern Colorado (1995) and bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education from Appalachian State University in 1983 and 1985, respectively. Prior to his current appointment, Dr. Heavner taught in the North Carolina public school system for six years. His teaching duties included beginning, intermediate and advanced band, general music, chorus, marching band and symphony band. His bands received consistent recognition for their excellence at both regional and national levels with the marching band winning over twenty-five first place and grand championship awards during his tenure there.

Maintaining an active schedule as a soloist, ensemble member, adjudicator and clinician, Dr. Heavner’s performance styles include both classical and jazz. As a performing artist for Yamaha, Cannonball and Beechler music corporations, he regularly performs with the Mobile and Gulf Coast Symphony Orchestras. Recent classical performances include the World Saxophone Congress XIII, the 2002 Biennial Conference of the North American Saxophone Alliance and recitals at Carnegie Hall, Florida State University, Furman University, the Eastern Shore Concert Artist Series, and with the Goliard Ensemble of New York. In 2007, Dr. Heavner was selected as the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society Artist of the Year.

In the areas of jazz and commercial music, Dr. Heavner has performed as a soloist with many well-known celebrities such as Natalie Cole, Smokey Robinson, Vince Gill, Bob Hope, Don Rickles, Regis Philben, The Temptations, Lorna Luft, Crystal Gayle, Al Martino, Ed Shaunesshy, Jon Faddis and Bobby Watson. Most recently, he performed two concerts with the University of South Alabama Jazz Combo at the world famous Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland. In addition, Dr. Heavner is a recording artist for LiveHorns.com, a music studio that produces live horn tracks for CDs, movie soundtracks and video games.

Dr. Heavner’s professional endeavors in music research have produced publications in the following music journals: Southeastern Journal of Music Education, Dialogue in Instrumental Music Education, International Education Journal, The Instrumentalist, Ala Breve, Downbeat, Das Schulbuch zwischen Lehrplan und Unterrichtspraxis, Approaching Cultures Through English and a series of articles regarding saxophone tone production in the Saxophone Journal. He appears on the cover of the January/February, 2006 issue of the Saxophone Journal with an in-depth personal interview inside. During his career, Dr. Heavner has been awarded many grants. Recently, he was one of only two musicians in the state of Alabama to receive the Alabama State Council of the Arts Fellowship Award for Artistic Development.

Dr. Heavner has presented music research throughout the United States and at international conferences around the world including the 15th Biennial World Conference for Gifted and Talented Children (Adelaide, Australia), the 2nd Annual Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities (Honolulu, Hawaii), the 10th Annual Leeds International Jazz Conference (Leeds, England), the International Historic Society for Research of School Books Conference (Ichenhausen, Germany), the Dublin International Conference on Music Theory (Dublin, Ireland), the College Music Society 48th National Conference (Quebec City, Canada), the 3rd International Conference on Cultural Diversity in English Speaking Countries (Coruna, Spain), the 9th International conference on Music Perception and Cognition (Bologna, Italy), the International Association of Special Education’s 10th Biennial Conference (Hong Kong, China) and the Mediterranean Conference for Academic Disciplines (Gozo, Malta). He has also authored an innovative aural skills textbook entitled Sight Singing and Rhythmic Reading, Progressive Exercises for Developing Aural Skills, published worldwide by Edwin Mellen Press.