Tyler Lustek

Tyler Lustek is an associate lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire jazz department, where he has co-directed the jazz combo program since Fall 2023. In addition to his appointment at UW-Eau Claire, Tyler maintains a private lessons studio, teaches jazz improvisation workshops at high schools across the Chippewa Valley, and performs in a wide variety of musical disciplines. As a performer, Tyler has shared the stage with the likes of Marquis Hill, Stafford James, Sue Orfield, Dean Granros, Kenni Holmen, Sean Carey, Tanya Darby, Natalie Cressman, Sherrie Maricle, Anat Cohen, & Wayne Bergeron.

As a student in the long-established jazz bands at Eau Claire Memorial High School, Tyler was involved in all aspects of the school’s music programs. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Tyler majored in music education, studied jazz piano with Dr. Johannes Wallmann and Chris Rottmayer, and formed a student organization dedicated to hosting jazz jam sessions on campus. In his final semester at UW, Tyler completed his student teaching at Sun Prairie High School with acclaimed jazz educator Steve Sveum.

Tyler earned his graduate degree in jazz studies at Northern Illinois University, where he studied under Reggie “Prof” Thomas, Richard D. Johnson, and Geof Bradfield. At NIU, Tyler held the jazz piano graduate teaching assistantship, and performed & recorded with the nationally-acclaimed NIU Jazztet graduate ensemble. He was also president of the NIU Jazz Education Network, and recorded on The Noah Brooks Coalition’s debut record In the Night (2021). In his final semester at NIU, Tyler received the Runner-Up Award for the 2022 Jan Bach Prize in Music Composition for his piece "The Other Side.”

Since his return to Eau Claire in 2022, Tyler has organized or been involved with a variety of musical projects around the Chippewa Valley, including the Tyler Lustek Confluence, avant-garde jazz duet Lustek / Granros, Jack Schabert’s Blue Ox jazz groups, the Chippewa Valley Jazz Orchestra, and The Other Brothers. Tyler was named #3 Best New Band / Artist in Volume One Magazine’s 2023 Best of the Chippewa Valley Reader Poll. In 2024, Tyler joined the Clearwater Jazz & Art Festival as Educational Programs Director, where he directs the Clearwater Honors Jazz Ensemble for high school jazz musicians in the Chippewa Valley region.

Teaching Interests
● MUSI 259/459 Jazz Combo

Education
● B.M., University of Wisconsin-Madison
● M.M., Northern Illinois University