Dr. Erik Mahon is Associate Professor of Music and Director of Jazz Studies at Morningside University in Sioux City, IA. In addition to directing Morningside’s Jazz Ensemble, M Avenue, and overseeing the jazz area, he teaches applied trumpet, coaches and coordinates brass chamber activities, and teaches various courses within the department and general education curriculum. Mahon holds degrees from Gustavus Adolphus College, University of South Dakota, and The University of Kansas. Hdis primary teachers are Steve Wright, Rolf Olson, Steve Leisring, and Dan Gailey.

Under his leadership, the jazz studies area at Morningside has continued to thrive as a regional resource for high school students and directors alike. The Morningside Jazz Festival is the largest and longest running jazz festival in the region, welcoming over 60 bands annually for four days of performances and clinics. The festival will be in its 53rd year in 2026. Recent guest artists include Dick Oatts, Dan Gailey, Kenny Rittenhouse, John Fedchock, Brandon Draper, Craig Treinen, Karyn Quinn, Henry Hey, and Theresa Chen.

Equally at home in the classical, jazz, and commercial idioms, Dr. Mahon’s recent performance credits include concerts with the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra and Smithsonian Masterworks Jazz Orchestra with Minneapolis-based hip-hop artist, Dessa. He is a regular member of the Jazzed Up! Big Band (Okoboji) and Fellowship Center Jazz Orchestra (Sioux Falls), playing lead trumpet. 

Mahon is also a member of the Sioux Falls-based and ten-time ‘The Local Best’ winning band, Goodroad. In the past several years, Goodroad has performed with or opened for Heart, Jon Pardi, Mitchell Tenpenny, LOCASH, Sister Hazel, and others. In July 2019, Mahon attended and performed at the International Trumpet Art Week Conference at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music in Chengdu, China.

Dr. Mahon is active around the Midwest as a clinician, adjudicator, and educator. He is a member of the Iowa Bandmasters Association, the Northwest Iowa Bandmasters Association, and Jazz Educators of Iowa. He lives in Sioux City with his goldendoodle, Finnigan.