Jesus Fuentes
Assistant Professor
Biography
Jesus Fuentes is an active pianist, arranger, composer, and educator. Currently based in Myrtle Beach, Jesus is an Assistant Professor of Music at Coastal Carolina University, where he teaches group piano, jazz piano and directs the CCU jazz combo. Jesus holds a DMA in Jazz performance with a cognate in Piano Pedagogy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a MM in Jazz Performance from Texas Tech University and a BM in Commercial Music from the University of Texas at El Paso. Jesus is a member of Jazz Education Network and his quartet was invited to perform at their 2021 annual conference in Dallas, Texas.
While Jesus is mainly a Jazz pianist, he has studied and regularly performs a variety of genres including Classical, Latin, and most commercial music styles. As a Jazz pianist he has played with world renowned artists such as Tom Harrell, Allen Vizzutti, Jaleel Shaw, Jiggs Wigham, and The Glenn Miller Orchestra, as well as performed in the Winnipeg Jazz Festival, and the CU Jazz Festival. In other genres, Jesus has accompanied artists such as Joe Ely, Mac Davis, Ian Moore, and Il Divo.
Jesus has received multiple academic awards throughout his music studies including a Doctoral Fellowship at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana in 2020. Jesus was sponsored by the Promising Artists of the 21st Century Jazz Program to travel to Colombia as a member of the UTEP Jazz Quartet to perform and give masterclasses in 2016, and receiving the 2015 Presser Undergraduate Scholar Award at the University of Texas at El Paso.
Education
D.M.A, Jazz Piano, cognate in Piano Pedagogy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
M.M., Jazz Piano, Texas Tech University
B.M., Commercial Music, University of Texas at El Paso
Teaching Areas
Commercial Music and Jazz
Research Areas
Jazz Piano Pedagogy