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2003 Distinguished Alumnus Award
Allan Eugene Aitken, M.M. (1969), Ph.D. (1975)

Gene Aitken, a member of the Jazz Educators Hall of Fame and one of the most active clinicians in jazz education today, received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the UO School of Music during Commencement ceremonies on June 14. Aitken received his master's degree (1969) and a Ph.D. (1975) in music from the University of Oregon.

Until recently, Aitken was Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC), where the jazz studies program received more Down Beat magazine awards and more National Endowment for the Arts grants than any institution of higher education in the United States. UNC is also the only institution of higher education in the United States to receive a Grammy Nomination in the vocal jazz area. During his tenure at UNC, Aitken produced 30 record albums and compact discs under a contract with Los Angeles-based United Jazz Artists Records.

Currently, Aitken is full-time advisor to dean of the College of Music at Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand. The new music facility, completed in 2001, was built for 1,500 music students and contains three state-of-the-art recording studios. In May 2003 the University began constructing a new music auditorium, music library, and multimedia center with funding received from the Thailand government. The focus for the College of Music is to become the center for music studies in Southeastern Asia.

In 1995, Aitken was the 32nd individual inducted into the International Association of Jazz Educators' Hall of Fame along with Doc Severinson and Ella Fitzgerald, joining such luminaries as Count Basie, Woody Herman, Louis Armstrong, and Duke Ellington.

Aitken has authored 30 articles for national and international journals on jazz education and computer technology, and has had several compositions published through Kendor Music. In 1997, the National Education Association published a chapter by Aitken in its book, "Music in the Twenty-first Century" on the future of music education in the United States. He has presented seminars and workshops at the Mid-West Band and Orchestra Clinic, the National Association of the Schools of Music, the Society for Applied Learning Technology, the National Education Association, the American Choral Directors' Association and the International Association of Jazz Educators' Association. In addition to conducting many clinics, workshops, and performances in the instrumental and vocal jazz area, he presents seminars and workshops promoting multimedia and music technology.

As a wind ensemble conductor, clinician and adjudicator, Aitken is in demand worldwide. This past November, he directed the All-Asian Honor Wind Ensemble in Hong Kong, and served a week in residence in the Hong Kong International School. In 2000, 2001, and 2002, he was invited to Bangkok, Thailand, to serve on one of the international adjudication teams for the International Wind Ensemble Competition. In 1999, he was selected as conductor of the International Association of Southeast Asia Schools Honor Wind Ensemble.

During the 1998-99 season, Aitken was conductor and musical director of the Washington Wind Symphony, one of the premiere professional wind ensembles in the United States. Prior to that time, in addition to being director of the Washington Army National Guard Wind Ensemble for 20 years and Staff Bands Officer for the U.S. Sixth Army in Presidio, CA, his wind ensembles have performed at the College Band Directors National Association Conference, the Oregon Music Educators' Conference, the Washington Music Educators' Conference, and many others.

In 1997, Aitken was presented the State of Colorado's highest arts award, the Governor's Awards for Excellence in the Arts, presented for his national and international contributions to music and music education. In 1997 and 1998, U.S. News and World Report named the University of Northern Colorado's Jazz Studies Program as one of the top five such programs in the nation.

In addition to his contributions to the field of jazz education and music technology, Aitken continues to be very active in the Los Angeles area. He can be seen in many films and television specials, including several features for Fox Television and NBC's Monday Night Movies. Aitken has written and conducted several movie scores with full orchestra in addition to writing and arranging for several international artists.

During the summer months since 2000, Aitken has been on the staff of Jazz at Lincoln Center, the five-day Ellington Band Directors' Academy held in Aspen, CO during June. In June 1999 and 2000, Aitken taught for the Teacher Training Institute in Los Angeles sponsored by the International Association of Jazz Educators. From 1988-1998, he was in charge of the Summer Jazz Workshop program at the Britt Educational Institute in Medford, Oregon.

Aitken has worked in Los Angeles in the area of multimedia development at the American Film Institute as well as in the Departments of Asian Studies and Film Scoring at University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).