Sean Kiefer is an award-winning jazz trumpeter and composer/arranger currently studying jazz composition at the Eastman School of Music. He is a recent graduate of the University of Northern Iowa Jazz Studies program where he completed his Bachelor of Music in Jazz Performance.

He is a proud endorsing artist for Bell Trumpets, based in Fort Worth, TX. He has previously studied with Michael Conrad, Christopher Merz, Randy Grabowski, and Scott Hagarty. As a trumpeter, he has performed at the local, state, and national levels, including a residency at the Telluride Jazz Festival in August of 2024. Additionally, he was a second and third place winner in the jazz division of the respective 2026 and 2025 National Trumpet Competitions.

He regularly performs his compositions and arrangements with his own group at venues all over Iowa, including the state’s premiere jazz club, Noce. He has collaborated with artists such as Mike Stern, John Clayton, Annie Booth, Terell Stafford, Dave Rivello, Steven Feifke, and many others. As a composer/arranger, he has earned awards for his writing from Downbeat Magazine, ASMAC, ASCAP, New York Youth Symphony, and ISJAC. Most recently, he was selected as a 2026 recipient of the prestigious ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award and the Grand Prize Commission Winner of the 2026 John Deak First Music Program. He was also selected as the 2nd place winner of the 2024 Bill Conti Big Band Arranging Competition, the 3rd place winner of the 2024 Van Alexander Arranging Competition, and the 1st place winner in the undergraduate division of the 2024 ICF Composition Contest. He regularly does freelance engraving work and is a commissioned composer.