Isidore Rudnick Bio
Dr. Isidore Rudnick is an internationally respected American jazz educator, composer and arranger, jazz trombonist, conductor and arts administrator. For 40 years, Dr. Rudnick has worked with students in elementary schools, secondary schools and colleges and universities from the United States and Europe. He holds a Bachelor of Music Degree in Jazz Studies and a Master of Music Degree in Composition from the University of North Texas and a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Jazz Performance from the University of Miami (Florida). Dr. Rudnick has previously served as the Music Department Coordinator at the University of Maine at Augusta, Director of Instrumental Music at Yakima Valley Community College in Washington State and Artistic Director at the School for Creative and Performing Arts in Cincinnati. Dr. Rudnick recently retired from his 10-year tenure as the Fine & Performing Arts Curriculum Manager for Cincinnati Public Schools where he managed the creative and academic activities in the arts at CPS.
An accomplished composer and arranger, Dr. Rudnick has written works for large and small jazz ensembles, chamber ensembles, symphony orchestra and wind band. His music has been performed by school groups at jazz festivals in the United States and Europe. As a performer and conductor, Dr. Rudnick has shared the stage with prominent American jazz artists including Jimmy Heath, Slide Hampton, Eddie Gomez and David “Fathead” Newman as well as European jazz artists including Janusz Muniak, Jarek Smietana, Joan Chamorro and Zbigniew Wegehaupt. As a trombonist with the Dallas Jazz Orchestra, he toured and recorded two albums including Live at Montreux and Romeo & Juliet which features some of his compositions and arrangements.
A passionate and dynamic advocate of jazz education in schools, Dr. Rudnick co-founded the Cincinnati Jazz Academy in 2018 in cooperation with the Kennedy Heights Arts Center. Starting with just 18 students in 2018, the jazz academy has grown to over 150 students taking jazz classes Monday through Friday during the school year. The jazz academy provides barrier free jazz instruction and activities to underserved Cincinnati Public School students in grades 4th-12th at no cost to participating families. Under Dr. Rudnick’s leadership, jazz academy students have performed in the United States and Europe and have garnered top soloist and ensemble awards at national jazz festivals.
Dr. Rudnick is the recipient of several awards and honors including: Creative Ohio Arts Educator Champion Award (2024), Cincinnati Jazz Hall of Fame Special Recognition Award (2024), Ohio Art Education Distinguished Art Educator Award (2017), and Down Beat Magazine Outstanding Performance Award with the University of Miami Studio Jazz Band (1998). In March of 2025, Dr. Rudnick conducted the world premiere of his Cityscape for Symphonic Jazz Orchestra and Trumpet and Tenor Saxophone Soloists at the Aronoff Center for the Arts in Cincinnati. The work featured 50 Cincinnati Public School student performers and special guest artists Tanya Darby (trumpet) and Camille Thurman (tenor saxophone).
In July of 2025, Dr. Rudnick relocated to Portland, Oregon. He is currently working on a jazz education project to benefit public music school teachers and students across the country.
