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Paul Smoker
PAUL SMOKER
Davenport
Paul Smoker, 75, a trumpeter, composer and educator, died May 14, 2016, in Pittsford, N.Y.
Paul is survived by his wife, Beverly; sons, Evan and Andrew (Allison); granddaughters, Addison and Henley; and brother, Philip (Libby). He is predeceased by his parents, Arlus and Alice Smoker; and sisters, Mary and Martha.
Paul was born May 8, 1941, in Muncie, Ind. His parents moved the family to Davenport, Iowa, in 1943. Growing up in Davenport, Paul Smoker studied and performed both jazz and classical music. Paul attended the University of Iowa and received an undergraduate degree in music and a doctorate degree in trumpet performance. Prior to moving to Rochester, N.Y., in 1990, he taught trumpet, jazz, and 20th-century "classical" music at the universities of Iowa, Northern Iowa, Wisconsin-Oshkosh and Coe College. He directed the jazz studies program at Nazareth College from 2001 to 2014. An influential jazz musician, Paul leaves a legacy of over 50 recordings as well as many students who carry on his love of jazz, teaching and life.
A memorial service will be held on Thursday, May 26, at 1 p.m. in Linehan Chapel, Nazareth College, Rochester, N.Y.
Memorial donations may be made to the Nazareth College Music Department to support jazz studies or the University of Rochester Medical Center, Cardiology.
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