Meet Dr. Hughes

About Dr. Chad Hughes 

Dr. Chad “Sir Wick” Hughes is an accomplished composer, perfomer, and educator who presently serves as an associate professor and the director of bands at Morehouse College where he teaches history of jazz, orchestration, trombone, and improvisation.

Dr. Hughes’s compositions and arrangements have been premiered and performed by the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Morehouse College, Graceland University, Indianapolis Pops Symphony, University of Memphis, University of Michigan, Baker University, Alcorn State University, Bowling Green State University, University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, Tennessee State University Clark Atlanta University, and Montana State University. Sir Wick has been commissioned by Weston Sprott, acting principal trombonist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; Demondrae Thurman, associate professor of low brass at Samford University, and Kenneth Thompkins, principal trombonist of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. He is currently writing a trumpet sonata for band for David Hunsicker, trumpet professor at Wichita State University.

As an audio engineer, Sir Wick has recorded for major TV/Film projects such as Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Homecoming, Falcon and the Winter Soldier (episode 2) , and Dear Evan Hansen.

As a trombonist, Sir Wick has performed with the Temptations, Martha Reeves, Dwele, Tia Fuller, Aretha Franklin, Marcus Belgrave, Marc’s Project, and has arranged for Pharoahe Monch and Young RJ. His novical soundtrack, “A Tale of Two Fools,” reached No. 1 on the UK Soul Charts and peaked at No. 2 on the UK Sweet Rhythm charts.

As an adjudicator and clinician, Sir Wick has been active in the state of Michigan, Georgia, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Kansas.

Hughes was born in Detroit, Michigan, graduating from Cass Technical High School whose list of alumni include Donald Sinta, Paul Chambers, Milt Jackson, Diana Ross, Ron Carter, Jack White, David Alan Grier, John Delorean, Big Sean, and Lily Tomlin.

He graduated from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor with a B.Mus in Composition, and earned a M.Mus from Kansas State University. He studied under James Aikman, Erik Santos, Bright Sheng, Curtis Curtis-Smith, Craig Weston, and Pulitzer-Prize winning composer William Bolcom. Sir Wick graduated with his PhD from Louisiana State University where he studied with Dinos Constantinides and Carlos Riazuelo in Music Composition and Orchestral Conducting, respectively.