Jamie Poulsen

Jamie Poulsen has played the piano for 55 years. Jamie is a Classical pianist first but plays and teaches all styles of music when possible.  He received his M.M. in Piano Performance, University of South Dakota, and had 3 years of doctoral studies at the University of Iowa. Jamie does a great job paying homage to the old two-beat jazz piano stylings on many of the bands songs, and has worked up a number of the bands arrangements. He also has “perfect pitch” and does a segment during NOLA live performances where he plays snippets of songs from the old rock era (and others) and has the audience guess the songs!

Before he began teaching college full-time, Jamie was a full-time composer and producer of radio and TV commercials nationwide for many years.  He also composed music for business films and national conventions, including a large amount of music contracted for Disney Business Productions in Orlando, Florida. He was honored with the following awards:

• 21 Addy Awards for local and regional commercial music

• 11 Telly Awards (national)

• Best Score at the Iowa Film Awards 5 times

• First Prize in the 1985 PMMO Sacred Composition Contest out of 185 entries

• Semifinalist, 2014 and 2015, for the American Prize in Orchestral Composition

• The Hy-Vee theme song you hear on all their commercials – Jamie wrote it!

Jamie is currently a Professor at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa.  He teaches classical and jazz piano, piano improvisation, music theory and Ear Training, composition and songwriting, music history, as well as accompany instrumentalists and vocalists. Jamie loves music and teaching and performing with his students. One of his favorite moments is when a student has a ‘light bulb moment’---and he hopes to can continue to inspire those moments!