Lee Rucker has been teaching at UCO since 1981. Mr. Rucker has served since that time as the director of the UCO Jazz Lab, Marching Band, Concert Band, Jazz Ensembles I, II, & III, Music Theatre Pit Orchestras, and many smaller jazz groups. His ensembles have been recognized with numerous awards on the state, regional and national levels for musical excellence. As a performer, Lee has worked with the Woody Herman Orchestra and the Louis Bellson Orchestra as a featured soloist, and he has performed with countless other nationally recognized artists throughout the U.S. and Abroad.