DrDiego Celi
- Doctor of Musical Arts in Jazz Performance—University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Master of Arts in Music Education—Stephen F. Austin State University
- Baccalaureus Artium in Contemporary Music—Universidad San Francisco de Quito
- Alumnus in Jazz Studies—Florida International University
Dr Diego Celi is an Ecuadorian jazz guitarist, composer, pedagogue and scholar with experience as a performer, researcher and educator in South and North America.
Prior to joining LASALLE, he was Full Professor at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito for nearly 18 years, where he also served as Coordinator, Chair, Vice Dean, and Dean of the College of Music.
Dr Celi’s areas of expertise include traditional and contemporary jazz, Afro-Cuban and Brazilian popular music (MPB), jazz harmony, arranging and composition, and common practice period and contemporary Western art music theory. He also specialises in injury prevention in guitar players and in pedagogical approaches to the teaching of jazz guitar and jazz theory and composition.
His research in jazz theory has been presented at the Jazz Education Network Conference and the International Jazz Composers’ Symposium, and his books have trained hundreds of music students for almost two decades. Diego’s performing career includes concerts and recitals throughout Ecuador, Cuba, Miami, and Illinois, and he has also taught clinics and workshops in Colombia and Ecuador.
Publications
Books
- Diccionario de escalas, acordes y arpegios para guitarra. 2nd ed. 2011. Reprint, Quito, Ecuador: V&M Gráficas (2018)
- Rudimentos de la música. 1st ed. 2010. Reprint, Quito, Ecuador: Editorial Orión (2017)
- Diccionario de escalas, acordes y arpegios para guitarra. 1st ed. Quito, Ecuador: Editorial Ecuador (2006)
Peer reviewed articles
- “Heptatonic Synthetic Scales Nomenclature and Their Teaching in Jazz Theory.” Jazz Education in Research and Practice 1, no. 01 (January, 2020)
- “La importancia de la educación musical en la infancia.” Líneas de expresión, no. 01 (October, 2014)
- “Tendencias actuales en la educación musical.” Anaconda: Cultura y arte, no. 20 (April, 2009)
Keynotes and Presentations
Conference papers
- “In Search of a Definitive Jazz Chord-Scale Nomenclature.” Jazz Education Network, 9th Annual Conference, Jan. (2018), Dallas, TX
- “Polymodality and Its Influence on the Music of George Russell and Dave Brubeck.” International Jazz Composers’ Symposium, May (2017), Tampa, FL
Poster session
- “In Search of a Definitive Jazz Chord-Scale Nomenclature.” Jazz Education Network, 9th Annual Conference, Jan. (2018), Dallas, TX
Fellowships
- Doctoral Fellowship Fund, Secretariat of Higher Education of Ecuador (2013—2016)
Professional Appointments
- International Baccalaureate Examiner for Music in the Diploma/Career-related program
Professional Memberships & Affiliations
- Member, JEN—Jazz Education Network
- Member, CMS—College Music Society
- Member, ISJAC—International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers
Academic Service
- JEN—Jazz Education Network, Research Submission Review Committee Member for JEN Conference (2020)
- JEN—Jazz Education Network, Research Submission Review Committee Member for JEN Conference (2019)
- External Academic Evaluator in Music, for the Higher Education Council of Ecuador (2018)
- Submission Review Committee Member, Arts Research Grants—Universidad de las Artes, Guayaquil, Ecuador (2018)
- Chair, Hiring Search Committee, Universidad de las Artes, Guayaquil, Ecuador (2017)
Research Interests
- Post-tonal and modal jazz harmony
- Application of post-tonal Western art compositional techniques to jazz
- Improvisation
- Jazz counterpoint
- Jazz guitar pedagogy
- Jazz and contemporary music education