By his own admission, Frost School of Music Professor Emeritus Whit Sidener was nobody you’d expect to have a high-powered academic career. A journeyman collegian, he attended three different universities before graduating from the University of Miami as a self-described “typical C student.”
But he learned to multi-task, which came to fruition in almost half a century as a Frost School student and faculty member. Sidener was among the earliest graduates of the Frost School’s pioneering jazz program, earning a Bachelor of Music in 1969 and a Master’s in 1971. Three years later, he was in charge of the Department of Studio Music and Jazz, a position he held for 38 years – a tenure which has earned him Distinguished Alumnus of the Year for 2024. He will receive the award during the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra concert on January 31, 2025.
“Things have humble origins,” says Sidener, 81, who retired in 2013. “I thought I’d be a public school teacher after the music business ran out. But it never really did for me.”
His leadership had an enormous impact on the Frost School.
"Whit Sidener is, simply put, one of the most important figures in the history of jazz education,” says Dean Shelton G. Berg. “He built the Frost School Studio Music and Jazz Department into one of the best in the nation, and for decades conducted the Concert Jazz Band, often considered the best and most innovative in the country. Whit fashioned a department that fostered high-level professional skills, artistry, and employability. He left an indelible imprint on the Frost School."
Sidener won numerous accolades over the years, including the Phillip Frost Award for Excellence in Teaching and Scholarship and an Outstanding Service to Jazz Education Award from the International Association of Jazz Education (IAJE). In another measure of his effectiveness, his jazz students won some 200 Downbeat Awards during his time at the helm.
“From day one, the Frost School’s jazz program was the best in the country,” he says. “The amazing thing is it stayed that way year after year. Other schools would say they had the best jazz program. But when they took an honest look, they knew there was nothing like our jazz program.”
Sidener also found time to amass a Hall of Fame’s worth of credits as a saxophone and flute sideman for everyone from German chanteuse Marlene Dietrich to Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin. He played on gold and platinum records by the likes of The Bee Gees, KC, and the Sunshine Band, also backing up Jose Feliciano, Gloria Estefan, Louis Armstrong, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, and many more.
“Kids now go to the Henry Mancini Institute, but I was gigging with Mancini himself,” Sidener says. “For me, Miami was a great combination of education and professional experience. There were great teachers, retired guys from the New York Philharmonic, and everyone came through Miami. It was hard to tell what part was school education and what was practical experience. So I learned to bob and weave.”
While leading the jazz department, Sidener tried to foster an environment that was possible for students and faculty alike.
“It’s important for faculty members to be out there playing, too,” he says. “Sometimes faculty and students would wind up on the same gigs at night. So it was ‘Professor’ during the day and then on a first-name basis at night.”
Story by David Menconi
