Murray Jazz Residency

Founded in 2009, the Murray Jazz Residency brings internationally acclaimed jazz and improvisation artists to the campus for a full week of engagement with the students of Towson University’s Department of Music.

These guest artists provide valuable models of the potential for creating a niche in today’s world of creative music making.

Featuring TU alumn Drew Gress as recurring biannual guest artists has proven to be a potent example that life in creative music is available through dedication and determination.

The Murray Jazz Residency continues to inspire future musical artists through the sustained generous gifts of Bill Murray, Vira J. Denney and the Murray Family. 

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About the Fall 2025 Artist: Mike Holober

Described by DownBeat Magazine as “one of the finest modern composer/arrangers of our time,” Mike Holober was awarded the 2022 American Academy of Arts and Letters Andrew Imbrie Award in Music.  His 2019 release “Mike Holober and the Gotham Jazz Orchestra:  Hiding Out” was nominated for a GRAMMY® (“Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album) and features two of his extended works for jazz orchestra.  DownBeat Magazine proclaimed the recording a “long anticipated, epic work,” while others praised the composer’s “daring compositional voice,” “powerful orchestral magic,” and “profound artistic vision,” confirming his place in “the front rank of the most accomplished and inventive composers in jazz.” 

In addition to leading his own band, Mike has served at the helm of some of the world’s most renowned large ensembles as composer, arranger, and conductor.   He was Artistic Director of the critically acclaimed Westchester Jazz Orchestra, and he has worked extensively overseas, writing and conducting for the hr-Big Band (Frankfurt, Germany) and the WDR Big Band (Cologne, Germany).  Recent engagements include residencies at the Jazzcampus in Basel, Switzerland, and the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts (in cooperation with the hr-Big Band). In November 2024 he arranged poem settings by Omer Klein for vocalist Becca Stevens with the hr-Big Band, and in July 2025 he composed a suite of three jazz orchestra compositions titled “Random Moves” for the WDR Big Band, featuring saxophonist Chris Potter.

Trained as a classical pianist, Mike has released seven recordings as a leader, and can be heard on over 70 recordings as a sideman.   His small group projects include The Mike Holober Quintet, Balancing Act (a jazz octet with voice), and most recently The Marvin Stamm/Mike Holober Quartet and the Marvin Stamm/Mike Holober duo project.

Amongst his honors, Mike is the recipient of a prestigious Chamber Music America New Jazz Works commission for “Don’t Let Go,” a song-cycle written for “Balancing Act,” his jazz octet with voice.  He was named the inaugural Stuart Z. Katz Professor in the Humanities and the Arts at The City College of New York in 2017, and he has enjoyed multiple artist residencies at MacDowell (2003; 2004; 2005; 2006; 2009; 2020), The Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts (2019), The Ucross Foundation (2007; 2019), and Yaddo (2005).  

Mike is a full Professor at The City College of New York, and teaches composing and arranging at The Manhattan School of Music.  He was Associate Director of the BMI Jazz Composer’s Workshop from 2007 - 2015, where he taught with Director Jim McNeely, and he is an active member of the International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers (ISJAC), frequently featured as a presenter alongside luminaries such as Anat Cohen, John Clayton, Jim McNeely, and Danilo Perez.

Additional Featured Artists

• Drew Gress (2009, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2022, 2024)
• Ellery Eskelin (2010, 2011, 2014, 2017)
• Tim Hagans (2009)
• John Hollenbeck (2009)
• Gerald Cleaver (2010)
• Craig Taborn (2012)
• Matt Wilson (2012)
• Ralph Alessi (2013)
• Mary Halvorson (2014)
• Tony Malaby (2015)
• Tim Berne (2016)
• Kris Davis (2017)
• William Parker (2018)
• Mark Guiliana (2019)
• Oliver Lake (2021)
• Angelica Sanchez (2022)
• Wadada Leo Smith (2023)
• Gretchen Parlato (2023)
• Joe Lovano (2024)
• Ingrid Laubrock (2025)