Robert Sears

Dr. Robert Sears enjoys an active career balancing his love of teaching and performing as both a classical and jazz musician. He joined the faculty at West Virginia University in the Fall of 2020 as an Assistant Professor of Trumpet and previously held teaching positions at Millikin University, Illinois State University, Illinois Wesleyan University, and the University of Illinois Springfield. 

Previous performance engagements include being a substitute with the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra (regular 2nd/3rd trumpet sub from 2021-present), extra with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Orchestra, substitute with the Pittsburgh Festival Opera, extra with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, substitute with the West Virginia Symphony, second trumpet in the Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra (2019-2020), member of Sycamore Brass (2018-2020), founding member of the Afro-Caribbean Jazz Collective and Iron Post Jazz Orchestra, and previous substitute with the Heartland Festival Orchestra, Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia da Camera Chamber Orchestra, and Urbana Pops Orchestra. Dr. Sears has been a featured soloist with West Virginia University's Wind Symphony (2022), Millikin University's Wind Ensemble (2019), Illinois Wesleyan University’s Wind Ensemble (2018), the University of Illinois Summer Band (2017 and 2016), and Brigham Young University-Idaho’s Symphony Band at the 2014 CBDNA conference in Reno, Nevada with the BYU-Idaho Faculty Brass Quintet. Dr. Sears has also performed alongside jazz artists Chip Stephens, Glenn Wilson, Jeff Halsey, Mark Tonelli, Jim Pugh, Tito Carrillo, John Clayton, Ernie Watts, Doc Severinsen, Jared Sims, Alton Merrell, Tony Martucci, and his esteemed colleagues at WVU, Brian Wolfe, and Paul Thompson. In both 2019 and 2018, he was a featured soloist and clinician at Illinois Wesleyan University’s Jazz Festival, and in 2023, 2021, and 2019, he arranged and recorded horn section parts for various EP releases with gospel, R&B, and soul artist Julius Adams. He has also performed with commercial singers Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. and Trevor Nicholas.

Dr. Sears can be heard on numerous recording projects including NewStream Brass' debut album A Step Forward released on Mon Hills Records (2024) where two of his original compositions Minor Detail and Green Street were featured, Dillinger: An American Oratorio released on Navona Records (2023), Julius Adams' single Healer (2023), Brazilian bassist Andrey Gonçalves' album Nocturnal Geometries (2020), the Afro-Caribbean Jazz Collective’s debut EP (2019), Indy rock, soul guitarist, and vocalist Dan Hubbard’s album Attention (2019), Transit Brass’ debut album Soundscapes (2018), where two of his original compositions Breathe and To the Stars were featured, and Astral Canticle (2015) released under Nimbus Records with the University of Illinois Symphony Orchestra.

Over the summer, Dr. Sears serves as the director of WVU's Summer Brass Academy, a week-long camp for graduating 8th-12th grade brass students. The camp is designed to help students develop their technical ability, interpretive skills, and increase their understanding of a variety of genres and musical styles through masterclasses, individual lessons, and chamber music ensembles. Dr. Sears has also served as trumpet faculty at Illinois Summer Youth Music and the Fredericksburg Brass Institute.

In addition to performing and teaching, Dr. Sears is an avid composer and arranger, having studied jazz composition and arranging with Chip McNeill, former musical director for both Maynard Ferguson and Arturo Sandoval’s bands.

Dr. Sears' research and dissertation Compositional Elements in the Music of Ken Schaphorst: A Detailed Analysis of Four Works for Jazz Ensemble highlights compositional components found in four original pieces by Ken Schaphorst: Jobim, Uprising, Mbira 2, and How to Say Goodbye. The analysis sheds light on extensive motivic and thematic development, the interpretation of sonata form in big band jazz composition, the mechanics of creating extended solo features, effective groove changes that aid development, unique voicings and instrument pairing choices, and other innovative musical devices. This research aims to be informative and useful for both aspiring and seasoned composers and arrangers.

Other research endeavors include being involved in the International Trumpet Guild (ITG). In 2021, Dr. Sears gave a virtual presentation (due to Covid-19), Be In The Know: Classical vs. Jazz Style and Articulation, at the 2021 virtual ITG conference. In 2023, he presented Vibrato Usage: Varying the Approach When Playing in Different Ensembles, Genres, and Eras of Music at the ITG conference held in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 2025, he performed a new commission Caprice in Contrast for trumpet and piano at the ITG conference held in Salt Lake City. Additionally, his composition Coalescence for 14 Trumpets was premiered at the same conference by the Non-Pro Committee trumpet ensemble. 

Dr. Sears holds a B.M. in Music Education from Brigham Young University-Idaho, an M.M. in Trumpet Performance and Literature from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a D.M.A. in Jazz Performance, with a cognate in Classical Performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His primary trumpet instructors include Tito Carrillo, Charles Daval, Ronald Romm, Dr. Ryan Nielsen, Dr. K. Newell Dayley, and David Evans.