Dr. Chip Crotts is Director of Jazz Studies and Assistant Director of Bands at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA. Highly active as a professional trumpet player, Chip has performed and recorded for the Disney Company in Europe and the United States, and as a first call player, maintains an active career of national touring shows, regional symphony dates and local performances throughout the year. A GRAMMY-nominated performer, Chip has recorded and worked with numerous artists, including the Boston Brass, the Manhattan Transfer, Ray Charles, Rhythm and Brass, Natalie Cole, The Temptations and Maynard Ferguson, among others.
A passionate educator, Chip is highly involved in the fields of music education and jazz, and stays active as a clinician and adjudicator for such organizations as Bands of America and Drum Corps International. Chip has taught several of the top drum corps in the world, most notably Phantom Regiment and Blue Devils, with which he won multiple world championships in 2008 and 2010, respectively. Chip serves on the Lead Brass Team for The Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps.
At the Institute, Chip is highly engaged in research driven by his interests in both music and health. Having a direct correlation to high-level wind playing, the study of breathing and its practical application in health is at the forefront of his work. Chip strives for a world where the average person is engaged in wind instrument plying for the dual purpose of musical enjoyment and improved health outcomes. Chip also devotes time to the study of versatility in musicianship, as well as a focus on jazz pedagogy and the use of new technology in teaching and developing improvisation.
Currently, Chip stays active performing with many Atlanta based groups, such as the Joe Gransden Big Band, Drive-By Big Band, the Usual Suspects and Jazz Orchestra Atlanta. Chip also works regionally with the orchestras of Chattanooga, Huntsville and Alabama, and is a member of the Tuscaloosa Horns, playing alongside the likes of Frankie Vallee, Brandon Bennett, The Four Tops and the OJ’s.
A Yamaha Performing Artist and Clinician, Chip previously served on the faculties of Samford University, Jacksonville State University and The University of Texas at Austin.
