DOUG COOMLER, MUSIC DIRECTOR

Music began for Doug Coomler in the fifth grade when he chose to learn the sax. In eighth grade he played his first improvised solo on the alto and in the ninth grade moved over to the tenor as it was the featured soloist chair. 

Fortunately, there was a public radio station that he could tune into for their two nights a week of jazz. He would start a cassette recording at 8 p.m. and the next morning eagerly put on headphones to hear what was played that night.

In 1990, Coomler and his high school jazz band competed in Reno Jazz Festival where Coomler came home with the Outstanding High School Saxophone Solo award and a full scholarship to UNR’s jazz program. In 1991, Coomler began his undergraduate music education studies and returned to earn a master’s degree in jazz performance in 2015.

Through the years, Coomler has played with and for numerous acts that have performed at clubs, concert halls and casinos in the Biggest Little City in the World. Those artists include The Temptations, Four Tops, Supremes and Frank Sinatra Jr. as well as productions of Smokey Joe’s Café, Grease, Shake Rattle and Roll, The Rat Pack and Simply the Best (Tina Turner Review).

Coomler has shared his passion for jazz by teaching privately, at the University of Nevada, Reno, and is currently the Incline Middle School Band Director.

Though he has performed with the orchestra on the tenor sax since 1999, Coomler recently took the helm as the Music Director of the Reno Jazz Orchestra to move the non-profit organization musically forward.

The energy coming from an excellent performance is powerful, and standing in front of the orchestra conducting still gives him goosebumps. 

• Meet the Members of the Orchestra
• Meet the RJO's Board of Directors & Staff
• Read about our History and Mission