Gordon (Dick) Goodwin holds a doctorate in composition from the University of Texas where he taught theory and composition and ran the jazz program (which he initiated) for nine years.  In 1973 he moved to the University of South Carolina to head the Theory-Composition-History area, conduct the University Orchestra, and write music for the USC athletic bands (half-time shows, etc.).  His compositions in virtually every idiom from jingle to opera, jazz band to orchestra, have been performed across the United States and abroad. Dr. Goodwin is active as a performer (fifteen foreign and numerous domestic concerts and tours with his jazz quintet and big band) and as a recording studio composer-performer-producer, and he is a Yamaha Trumpet Artist. Goodwin was the recipient of the 2001 Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Individual Artist Award, the highest honor given in the arts by the State of South Carolina. He is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at USC.