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Alyssa Mehnert began her musical studies at age 7 with regular piano lessons, and began playing jazz and classical trombone in her high school music program. While choosing to attend the University of Cincinnati for jazz studies with trombone as her primary instrument, she continued to play piano in various settings, as well as exploring other genres of music, including the classical, pop and Latin idioms. At CCM she has studied with jazz trombonist Marc Fields, and performed with the CCM Jazz Ensemble, Trombone Choir, musical theatre pit orchestra and various small jazz combos. During her time in the Cincinnati area, Alyssa has frequently performed on trombone with the Dayton Jazz Orchestra, the Blue Wisp Big Band, Latin band Son Del Caribe, and in various small group jazz settings. As a pianist, Alyssa has performed with pop music acts such as Legend Vega, as well as the band Chica, Cincinnati’s only all-girl latin jazz group. She has also played piano and directed the choir at Phillips Memorial C.M.E church. As an arranger and composer, Alyssa has found as much success as she has in performing. Several of her pieces for big band have been performed by the CCM Jazz Lab band, the Blue Wisp Big Band, the Dayton Jazz Orchestra, Vaughan Wiester’s Famous Jazz Orchestra, and the Eastman Jazz Ensemble. She enjoys writing for classical chamber ensembles, orchestra, and often arranges music for several Latin bands in the Cincinnati area. She has also studied jazz arranging and composition at the Eastman School of Music with composer and educator Bill Dobbins. Alyssa has worked extensively as a music educator. She has taught private lessons to trombone students throughout her high school and college career, and occasionally gives workshops to jazz students at Princeton High School in Cincinnati.