Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech Accomplished musician, composer, and music educator, Minnesota-based Adam Meckler has been named the new assistant professor of music/director of jazz studies in the Visual and Performing Arts Department at Michigan Technological University.

HOUGHTON — Adam Meckler, accomplished musician, composer, and music educator, has been selected as the new assistant professor of music/director of jazz studies in Michigan Technological University’s Visual and Performing Arts Department. Meckler will replace Mike Irish, who retired in 2018.

Jared Anderson, department chair of the Visual and Performing Arts, said he is looking forward to having Meckler come onboard in August.

Anderson, a member of the search committee, said it took some time to find a replacement for Irish.

“As is the case with all faculty hires at Michigan Tech,” Anderson said, “we did a national search. We had a large pool of applicants, and we were really pleased to have a number of qualified individuals for the position. Adam rose to the top, and we were very impressed with what he’s been doing in the Twin Cities, his own work, his freelance work, in terms of his Adam Meckler Orchestra.

“He’s had some really great recordings. He is a real up and coming star in the jazz world, and we’re really excited to have him here.”

Meckler, who currently lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is an Edwards Instrument Co. Performing Artist and Clinician, and leads The Adam Meckler Orchestra (AMO), an 18-piece big band that plays his original compositions. The AMO’s debut album “When the Clouds Look Like This” was listed among 2014’s Best Jazz Releases by iTunes.

Adam currently holds faculty positions in trumpet and Jazz at Macalester College, MCTC, and MacPhail Center for Music, Meckler’s website states.

A trumpet player, composer, and educator, Meckler tours and records with The Hornheads (Prince), Youngblood Brass Band, and Nooky Jones, and plays regularly with a host of bands around the Twin Cities including Lulu’s Playground, The Jana Nyberg Group, Jack Brass Band, The Graydon Peterson Quartet, and The Pete Whitman X-Tet. His latest release, “Magnificent Madness,” is available via Ropeadope Records, and on all streaming platforms as of May 3.

Meckler will be the third director of the Michigan Tech Jazz program, which has a 52-year history of jazz in the Midwest.