- MMus 2011, University of Oregon
- BME 2009, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- MMus 2011, University of Oregon
- BME 2009, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Paul Krueger is an Assistant Professor and Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Oregon where he teaches jazz trumpet and jazz composition lessons, Jazz History, Advanced Jazz Arranging, Jazz Pedagogy, and the program’s premier small group, JazzArts Oregon. He is also the director of the Oregon Jazz Festival, which takes place each January in Eugene, OR, and the University of Oregon Jazz Improvisation Summer Jazz Camp, which takes place each July.
Krueger's compositions and arrangements have been programmed by university ensembles around the country, and have been performed by artists such as Kendrick Scott, Dave Pietro, Steve Wilson, and Dan Tepfer. In May 2012, Krueger's arrangement of Steve Wilson's "Wish You Were Here" received a Downbeat Magazine Student Music Award for Best Jazz Arrangement, and Krueger was named one of ASCAP's Young Jazz Composer Award winners for original compositions in 2012, 2013, and 2014. He is published by UNC Jazz Press and Walrus Music Publishing. Also a skilled trumpet player and improviser, Krueger is known for his broad sound, lyrical style, and his musical sensitivity on the bandstand. His first album, The Wayward Traveler , was released independently in December 2011, and features eight of his original compositions performed by his quartet.
Before his appointment at the University of Oregon, Krueger served as the Director of Bands at Lane Community College in Eugene, OR. Under his direction, the Lane Jazz Ensemble was named the community college winner in the large jazz ensemble category of the 2015 Downbeat Magazine Student Music Awards. Previously, Krueger served as the Assistant Band Director at Washington High School in Sioux Falls, SD, where he taught concert bands, jazz ensembles, chamber ensembles, jazz combos, marching band and pep band. Krueger remains a highly sought-after clinician/presenter at universities, high schools, festivals, and music camps around the country.
A native of Lincoln, NE, Krueger earned his Bachelors Degree in Music Education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in May 2009, and his Masters Degree in Jazz Studies from the University of Oregon in June 2011.