Dr. JaKobe Henry is a genre-bending trumpet player, educator, researcher, and composer/arranger. He completed his DMA in Jazz Performance and his MM in Classical Trumpet Performance at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. His BA is in Music Education K-12 from Jacksonville State University in Alabama. JaKobe’s past instructors include Charles Daval, Jim Pugh, Ronald Romm, Pat Harbinson, Tito Carrillo, Dr. Chris Probst, Dr. James Woodward, and several premier military band members. 

JaKobe presented his research on trailblazing trumpeter Barbara Donald at the International Women’s Brass Conference and the International Trumpet Guild Conference in the summer of 2025. He has served on the judging committee for the Junior Division of the National Trumpet Competition since 2024, and that year also brought national and international recognition, including an Air Force Band Diversity Fellowship and selection for the International Trumpet Guild’s New Work Competition. In 2022, JaKobe competed in the live round of the Graduate Solo, Military Band Excerpt, and Small Ensemble divisions of the National Trumpet Competition in Boulder, CO.

JaKobe has had the privilege of playing in and learning the style and various roles in almost every standard music ensemble. These ensemble formats include Concert Band, Symphony Orchestra, Brass Quintet, Trumpet Ensemble, Latin Jazz Ensemble, Big Band, Jazz Combo, Pep Band, and Marching Band. JaKobe is an Assistant Professor of Music at Westminster College in New Wilmington, PA.