Paul Musso, Mark Simon, Clare Church

Paul Musso is an Associate Professor and Area Head of Music Performance in the Music and Entertainment Industry Studies (MEIS) Department at the University of Colorado Denver, where he has taught for 36 years. He serves as Performance Program Director for MEIS Jazz and Commercial Guitar.
Paul has composed music for several Hollywood films, including the short film Shiny, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2016 and won Tropfest, the world’s largest short film festival, in Australia. He is also the author of six instructional texts in jazz guitar and music theory, published by Mel Bay Publications, the world’s largest publisher of guitar method books. His best-selling title, Fingerstyle Jazz Guitar: Teaching Your Guitar to Walk, has been translated into Japanese.
In addition to his work as a composer and author, Paul is an accomplished performer who has toured throughout Europe, Mexico, and the United States. Jazz guitar legend Jim Hall praised Paul’s playing as “beautiful, with great tone and melodic surprises.”
Paul’s most recent album, Songs From the Pier—described as a “love letter to Southern California”—features nineteen original compositions performed on acoustic guitar.
Mark Simon has been a highly respected figure in the Colorado music scene for over 40 years. A versatile bassist, he has recorded, performed, and toured extensively alongside jazz legends such as Carmen McRae and Dizzy Gillespie.
As a composer, his work has been featured in some of Denver’s most innovative jazz ensembles, including Convergence and the Jazz W.O.R.M.S.
In addition to his performance career, Mark has been a dedicated educator, teaching jazz bass at the University of Colorado Boulder and serving as a mentor and director at the renowned Colorado Conservatory for the Jazz Arts for over 30 years.