Rob Parton is Associate Professor of Jazz Trumpet and Interim Chair of Jazz Studies at the University of North Texas where he teaches trumpet and leads the Two O’clock Lab Band. Prior to joining the faculty at UNT, he held positions at Capital University, Roosevelt University, and Chicago State University, and has served as a clinician at universities and high schools throughout the United States. A versatile and in-demand trumpet player, Rob Parton has performed or record the music of diverse composers from Karel Husa to Leonard Bernstein to Duke Ellington. He has performed with many of America’s major orchestras including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, to name a few. He has also performed as lead trumpet on numerous Broadway shows in the Midwest and with award-winning artists Faith Hill, Natalie Cole, Tony Bennett and many others. In the studio, Rob can be heard on hundreds national commercials and with various artists on Concord, Verity, Mark Records, Sea Breeze and Sony record labels.  As the leader of his own big band in 1984, the Rob Parton Big Band has released eleven recordings, received preliminary Grammy nominations, performed at prestigious national and international music conferences and festivals, featuring jazz greats like Lew Soloff, Conte Candoli, Joe Williams and others.