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Professor John Toomey has been recognized for excellence in teaching several times, including his designation as University Professor for Excellence in Teaching, an honorary title awarded to less then 2 percent of the faculty at the university. Other honors include TELETECHNET Professor of the Year, and winner of the prestigious SCHEV Award for Excellence in Teaching. In 1991, Professor Toomey was designated a cultural specialist in Jazz by the United States Information Agency, and was sent to Botswana, Africa in this capacity to both teach and perform.
In the area of research, Professor Toomey serves as both director and performer for the Attucks Jazz Series under the umbrella of the Virginia Arts Festival, performs often on the Diehn Concert Series with various jazz artists, and served as performer and Music Director for Havana Nights, a state of the art jazz club in the Tidewater region. In all of these venues, he has performed in concert with nationally and internationally acclaimed jazz artists, such as Randy Brecker, John Fedchock, John Abercrombie, Terrell Stafford, and others. Professor Toomey has toured with jazz vocalist Rene Marie, including appearances at the JVC Festival in France and the Monterey Festival in California, and is featured on the recording Live at the Jazz Standard. The original score he composed for The Boys of H Company was recently aired in Singapore and Japan, and was featured on national television dozens of times during the past few years. Professor Toomey is currently featured on two recordings that were released in early 2015, Timely, with Glenn Wilson and John Dearth, and Fluidity, with trombone great John Fedchock. Before his tenure at ¹ÏÉñÍø, Professor Toomey performed and toured the world with jazz trumpet legend Maynard Ferguson with whom he recorded two cds, High Voltage 2, and Big Bop Noveau.