Dr. Brian Stark is an adjunct instructor of music and a private applied instructor of saxophone at LLCC. He additionally works as jazz ensemble director and saxophone instructor at the University of Illinois Springfield. Prior teaching positions include the University of North Texas, Tarrant County College, Brookhaven College and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He received his Doctor of Music Arts in jazz saxophone performance from UIUC and his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in jazz composition from UNT.
Dr. Stark’s research analyzes the fusion of jazz and flamenco in Miles Davis and Gil Evans’s album, “Sketches of Spain.” This research has been presented at conferences for the Jazz Education Network and the International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers. His flamenco studies are informed by an ongoing collaboration with flamenco guitarist David Chiriboga with whom he has organized numerous grant-funded performances and workshops at local schools. Chiriboga’s flamenco expertise combined with Stark’s experience as a jazz arranger and bandleader resulted in innovative performances that have been enthusiastically received by the central Illinois audience.
Beyond flamenco, he performs regularly with commercial groups, Latin jazz ensemble, and big bands, having been featured in the ensembles of leading performers such as Bob Ojeda, Davy Mooney, Adonis Rose, Larry Gray, Brad Leali and AACM member Renee Baker. He has contributed as composer, arranger, performer and engineer to more than 20 recording projects, including two releases as leader in 2022. During his time as a student, he performed with UNT’s Grammy-winning One O’Clock Lab Band and the UIUC Concert Jazz Band, headlining festivals across the country and sharing stages with Danilo Pérez, Stefon Harris, Sean Jones and Jim Snidero. Stark’s compositions for big band have been recognized by the Ithaca College Jazz Ensemble Composition Contest, the Texas Community College Band Directors Association and the International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers, and he has had compositions with classical instrumentation commissioned by the Covenant Arts Grant and recognized by the Source Song Festival. Ensembles under Stark’s leadership have been invited to perform at conferences for the Jazz Education Network and the North American Saxophone Alliance, in addition to festival appearances across the Midwest. Stark can be seen in the Champaign-Urbana area as leader of the Fiddle-Sax Fusion Band, the Illinois Flamenco-Jazz Collective, the Blue-Funk All-Stars and the Gobbo-Stark Quartet.