Dr. Stewart Ross received a Ph.D. in Music Education from Northwestern University in 1985.  He served as Director of Bands and professor of low brass at Minnesota State University for 21 years and was a professor at the same institution for 39 years, retiring to Ft. Myers in 2015.  Stewart was a student of Frank Crisafulli of the Chicago Symphony, and for much of his career was a trombone soloist/clinician for the Holton and later Conn Company.  During his final 10 years at Minnesota State University, Stewart served as the founding director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, where he helped 600 faculty members with their teaching.  Stewart also helped form a small company in 2002 that aids faculty in designing courses for college classes. He has delivered over 160 workshops on Integrated Course Design both nationally and internationally.  He served as a Kiwanis International Trustee from 2009-2012. Besides playing principal trombone in the Gulf Coast Symphony, Stewart performs with the Naples Klezmer Revival Band.