IJC Co-Chairs
The co-chairs of the Iowa Jazz Championships are responsible for logistical matters associated with the event. Read below to learn more about the co-chairs and their responsibilities, and please contact any of them with questions, comments, or concerns.
IJC Responsibilities: Treasurer (all billings, payments, contracts, and tax filings); T-Shirts (design, order, sales, and distribution); Audience Tickets
Bio: Alan Feirer is a professional leadership trainer, author, and consultant. For almost 20 years, he has done business as Group Dynamic and served bands, choirs, and corporate clients all over Iowa, working with leadership teams to get more done and embrace hard work through leadership training and team building. He is the author of The Group Dynamic Field Guide for Youth; 51 Ideas Student Leaders Can Use Today, with foreword by Dr. Tim Lautzenheiser.
Alan Feirer was a band director for 19 years. Bands and students under his direction received numerous honors, invitations, and high ratings. In 1997, the Sumner High School Band was selected as the class 1A honor band at the IBA convention, and in 2009, the Winterset High School Band served as the class 3A honor band at IBA. Alan has been a frequent adjudicator at all levels and in all areas, and has been a clinician and honor band director. Mr. Feirer graduated from Wartburg College in 1991 and earned the award for Outstanding Senior in Music Education. He earned his Master's degree from UNI in 2003. Since 2003, he has served as co‐chair of the Iowa Jazz Championships. Mr. Feirer lives in Des Moines, Iowa, with his wife, Julie. He also loves gaming, dining, exercise, and anything Disney, and he is co-host of the Music Ed Insights podcast.
IJC Responsibilities: 1A, 2A, 3A Logistics; Printed Program; Director Information Packet
Bio: Toni LeFebvre, originally from Bettendorf, IA, received her B.M. in Music Education from the University of Northern Iowa in 2014. Her first teaching position was at Okoboji High School, which she held for two years before pursuing graduate school. She completed her M.A. in Music Education at the University of Iowa in 2019 where she was also a graduate teaching assistant.
Toni is currently the band director at LaSalle Middle School in Cedar Rapids. Toni is a trumpet player and active musician, clinician, and adjudicator throughout Iowa. In 2017, she established the Iowa Women’s Jazz Orchestra, a big band made up of women musicians from across the state, dedicated to showcasing and encouraging the participation of women and girls in jazz.
IJC Responsibilities: Communications; Website/Social Media; Adjudicators; Festival Results; 4A Logistics
Bio: Steve Shanley is the Pearl M. Taylor Professor of Music at Coe College (Cedar Rapids, IA), where he coordinates the music education and jazz studies programs, and he is also the conductor of the Cedar Rapids Municipal Band, a professional ensemble that performs over 20 concerts each year. Prior to his arrival at Coe, Shanley spent 11 years teaching middle and high school music in the Cedar Rapids Community School District. He has an active schedule as a guest conductor, clinician, adjudicator, and pianist, and he is also in demand as a composer and arranger. Over 2,000 of his works have been performed by instrumental and choral ensembles throughout North America, Asia, South America, and Europe. Shanley has been a co-chair for the Iowa Jazz Championships since 2011 and is currently Vice President of the Jazz Educators of Iowa (JEI). He has also served as reader for the College Board Advanced Placement Music Theory examination, item writer for the ETS Praxis Music examination, contributing author for Teaching Music Through Performance, and founding president of JEI. Shanley is a member of the JEI Hall of Fame, was inducted into Sigma Alpha Iota as a National Arts Associate, and was honored with the Iowa Bandmasters Association Karl King Distinguished Service Award. He holds a PhD from the University of Iowa and is co-host of the Music Ed Insights podcast. Visit Steve's personal website here.
Past Co-Chairs
Thank you to our past co-chairs of the Iowa Jazz Championships:
Dan Peterson
Ron Battani
Larry Green
Guy Blair (1980-1982, 1989)
Jim McKinney
Dick Redman (1983-1988, 1993-1994)
Steve McCombs (1989-1990)
Jerry Tolson (1989-1993)
Terry Hanzlik (1993-1994)
Patrick Kearney (1998-2010)
Rich Wolfe
Jason Pentico (2011-2020)