Christopher Merz

Christopher Merz, Professor of Music, has served as Director of Jazz Studies and Director of the award-winning UNI Jazz Band One at the University of Northern Iowa since 2002. Under his direction, the band has traveled to South Africa, Cuba, and Thailand, and has recorded 16 CDs and 5 digital albums featuring many original compositions and arrangements by student and faculty writers. 

The 2024-2025 recipient of the Regents Award for Faculty Excellence, “recognizing his sustained record of excellence across the spectrum of faculty endeavors,” he has also received the School of Music’s John L. Baker Faculty Development award (2016), and the CHFA University Book and Supply Outstanding Teaching award recognizing excellence among tenure-track faculty (2006). He is a Past President of Jazz Educators of Iowa (JEI), and a member of their Hall of Fame (2015), as well as the Community Jazz Center of Des Moines Hall of Fame (2023). During his first year at UNI in 2000, he founded the UNI Combo Camp, an annual event for high school jazz students and music educators which has served well over 1000 students to date. He was awarded a professional development leave for the fall semester of 2025 to arrange the music of drummer Phil Haynes for large jazz ensemble. 

His recording credits include Steve McCraven, Darius Brubeck, John Rapson and Jon Snell, as well as his own projects; Counterculture, the Chris Merz/Bob Washut Duo, The X-tet, and Equilateral.  His 1997 release with the X-tet, Mystery is My Story, prompted Dave Brubeck to write, “I am very pleased with this wonderful band. Naturally I would admire a group like yours that, to me, is a grand extension of what we were doing...when we were the ‘new thing’”.  These days he can be heard with the Iowa Jazz Composers’ Orchestra led by colleague Mike Conrad, the soul jazz sextet Big Fun led by Iowa jazz legend Steve Grismore, and his own current bands, Christopher’s Very Happy. Band and Shorter Stories, which celebrates the music of master composer Wayne Shorter. An accomplished composer/arranger for large jazz ensembles, Merz has received commissions from university and high school big bands throughout the country, and is published through iJazzmusic, UNC Jazz Press and ejazzlines/Walrus.  He is also a highly sought after guest soloist, clinician and conductor at university and high school jazz festivals nationwide, and is endorsed by D’Addario and TM Custom tenor saxophones.