Jeff Jolly, composer
Jeff Jolly received a Bachelor of Music degree in Classical Guitar Performance at the University of Southern California in 1978. He studied there with Pepe Romero, James Smith, and Jonathan Marcus, and participated in master classes with the Romero family, Michael Lorimer, and Francisco Moreno Torroba. Jeff received a Master of Music Education degree from the University of New Mexico in 1988. He taught band, guitar, chorus, and general music in the Belen, NM, Consolidated Schools for 27 years, to grades 5-12. While teaching at Belen, he was named Teacher of the Year for 1991-2, and was given a New Mexico Quality in Education award by the UNM Research and Study Council in 2001. He has been listed in several reference publications, including Marquis Who’s Who in America, Marquis Who’s Who in the World, Marquis Who’s Who in American Education, Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers, and the National Honor Roll of Outstanding American Teachers. He was named to the NM Music Educators Association Hall of Fame in 2009.
Jeff has also been Director of Music at Covenant Presbyterian Church, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, since 1981. He has taught music at the School of Dreams Academy charter school in Los Lunas, NM, for the last two and a half years. In addition to teaching and performing, he composes music for a variety of musical ensembles, including chorus, band, orchestra, and guitar. He has written two stage musicals, recorded classical and jazz CD’s, and has written and recorded theme music for several television shows, including “News 101,” and “Adventure Rio,” as well as for PBS specials “The First Millimeter: Healing the Earth,” “Cody,” the Rocky Mountain Emmy award winning, “Looking In: Teens Who Are Homeless,” “Domenici,” and for several other documentaries. Jeff has been married to his wife, Diane, for 38 years. They have two children and three grandchildren.
