Luke Abruzzo received his M.M. in jazz studies from Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts in 1998, and a B.A. in music from the University of Pittsburgh in 1996. He is currently a full-time auxiliary instructor of music at Drexel University teaching music theory, composition and arranging, as well as guitar. Luke Abruzzo resides in the Philadelphia area and maintains an active career as a freelance guitarist and composer.
He is nationally recognized for his jazz big-band arrangements and original compositions. His work has been performed at jazz festivals in Colorado, California, and Philadelphia as well as at national conferences for the College Music Society. Locally, Luke Abruzzo is the staff arranger for Up Front, a Philadelphia based big-band. He has also brought his music to Drexel University through a series of commissions by the Drexel University Keyboard Ensemble. In the spring of 2008 he premiered his first piece for concert band, “Reflections of Prague”, written exclusively for the Drexel University Concert Band.
In December of 2008, with his band Up Front, some of Luke Abruzzo’s arrangements will be featured in a live radio broadcast in Philadelphia. He is currently working on another commissioned piece for the Drexel University Keyboard Ensemble, planning to be premiered in 2009. Also premiering in spring of 2009 is a concert band arrangement of Astor Piazzolla’s “Libertango”, to be performed by the Drexel University Concert band.
Luke Abruzzo is an active member of the College Music Society, National Association of Music Education, and the Society of composers.