Minnesota State Band Conductor

Keith Liuzzi

For 19 years Keith Liuzzi was the Music Director at Southwest High School in Minneapolis. He was responsible for the entire band program including Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, Marching and Pep Bands. Additional responsibilities included the Orchestra Program, String and Chamber Orchestras, teaching International Baccalaureate (history, theory and composition), and the Pit Orchestra for the annual high school musical.

Keith also directed the Jazz Program at Southwest High School which included traditional Big Band Jazz, Dixieland band and various smaller jazz combos. Several of these award winning jazz ensembles have been featured on KBEM, Twin Cities Jazz Fest and at the Artists Quarter in the Young Artists Series. In 2012 the Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education (DFJE) awarded Keith the Jane Matteson Award for Outstanding Jazz Educator.

As a professional musician, Keith sings in an a cappella quartet, Merrie Old Christmas Carolers; is a church soloist; and freelances on trombone with various Twin Cities’ orchestras, bands and jazz groups. He is a member of the Minnesota Band Directors Association (MBDA) and the Minnesota Music Educators Association (MMEA). Keith is a graduate of Augsburg College with graduate credits from Vander Cook College of Music in Chicago.