Dr. Thomas Zinninger is the Director of Jazz Studies and Associate Professor of Saxophone at Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK). A versatile musician with over two decades of professional experience, he has worked as a saxophonist, clinician, composer, arranger, and music educator. Zinninger is a Yamaha Performing Artist and performs exclusively on Yamaha saxophones.
Equally comfortable performing in a number of styles, Zinninger’s musical experience has ranged from combo and big band jazz to classical chamber and orchestral music. His performance credits include the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, the Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra, the Victoria Symphony Orchestra, the Blue Wisp Big Band, and the Cincinnati Contemporary Jazz Orchestra. As a jazz saxophonist, he has shared the stage with such greats as Lionel Hampton, Jimmy Heath, Bob Mintzer, James Moody, Dave Liebman, Terri Lyne Carrington, Marcus Printup, Rich Perry, Scott Wendholt, Ed Shaughnessy, and Terell Stafford. As a classical soloist, Zinninger has premiered new arrangements for the saxophone at both the World Saxophone Congress as well as North American Saxophone Alliance Conferences.
Zinninger has composed and arranged dozens of pieces for large and small jazz ensembles, as well as classical chamber groups and soloists. His works have been performed by the College-Conservatory of Music Jazz Ensemble, the TAMUK Jazz Bands and Combos, the TAMUK Trumpet Ensemble, the TAMUK Tuba/Euphonium ensemble, the South Texas Saxophone Orchestra, and the Wittenberg Jazz Ensemble. His published works are available through SAXpress. As an educator, Zinninger has presented numerous clinics and masterclasses across the country on topics ranging from saxophone pedagogy to jazz improvisation. He is also a published author in the Saxophone Symposium.
In addition to teaching applied lessons and overseeing the saxophone and jazz studios at TAMUK, Zinninger directs Jazz Combo I, Jazz Band II, and the South Texas Saxophone Orchestra. He also teaches saxophone methods, and courses in jazz improvisation, theory, arranging, and pedagogy. Prior to joining the TAMUK faculty in 2018, he held the Instructor of Saxophone position at Wittenberg University in Springfield, OH where he also directed the jazz ensemble and taught music appreciation. Zinninger has also served both as a graduate assistant and on the faculty at the College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) in Cincinnati, OH.
Zinninger holds a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Louisville, and a Master of Music in Jazz Studies and Doctorate of Musical Arts in Saxophone Performance from CCM.