Music Department

Simon Rowe teaches Jazz Piano, Jazz Studies and serves as the Coordinator of the Music Industry Program at MSUM.
 

Most recently, he taught for two years as part of the Jazz Faculty at Eastern Illinois University. As a pianist, Mr. Rowe has been most active in the Midwest, in St. Louis as a member of the Willie Akins Quartet and more recently in Indianapolis as the leader of his own trio.

His playing associations include Dizzy Gillespie, Dianne Schuur and Dave Liebman among others. In 1997 Mr. Rowe founded "Catalyst Productions", a record label dedicated to documenting and championing the work of some of the Midwest's most outstanding artists.

To date he has played on and produced four national releases for Catalyst, featuring St. Louis' Willie Akins and Jeanne Trevor and Kansas City's Luqman Hamza . The latest CD, "Flamingo", features the work of his Indianapolis-based trio. As a native Australian Mr. Rowe has strong international ties, in his homeland and as far afield as Torino Italy, where he performed as musical director for esteemed St. Louis vocalist Jeanne Trevor. Having studied at Northwestern University and the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music, Mr. Rowe completed his undergraduate degree in Jazz Studies at Eastern Illinois University. Moving to the St. Louis area, he completed his Masters work at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. He is currently pursuing a Doctorate at the University Of Illinois.