IAN DICKENSON has quickly made a name for himself throughout the West Coast as an award-winning composer and instrumentalist.  A graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Sonoma State University, and an alumni of the renown Henry Mancini Institute, Ian's work is distinctly American, drawing upon his experience in such "traditional" American styles such as jazz, minimalism, pop, rock, punk, fusion, electronic, and everything in between.

Ian discovered music independently during his early teens, starting out on guitar playing rock and blues before gradually transitioning to jazz and the double bass.  While in high school, he was winning awards as a soloist at festivals such as the Hayward and Redwood Empire Jazz Festivals.  After being nominated for the Press Democrat Service Award in music and being featured in the Press Democrat, The Independent (North Bay Bohemian), and Section M magazine, Ian was awarded a full scholarship to Sonoma State University where he holds a B.A. in jazz studies.  Ian served as principal bass for the SSU Opera and Chamber Orchestras, and as Director of the SSU Big Band, focusing on the music of Charles Mingus and Stan Kenton.  He studied double bass and composition with Mel Graves.

Simultaneously, Ian was resident composer for the SSU Center for Performing Arts Theater Department, composing original orchestral, theatrical and jazz scores for numerous productions including William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and Sam Sheppard's Curse of the Starving Class .  At age 20, Ian was selected as an ASCAP/Mancini Scholar to attend the Henry Mancini Institute at UCLA where he was awarded a fellowship underwritten by ASCAP and the Mancini Foundation, making him the youngest composer ever accepted into the rigorous and selective composition program.  He was selected by the California Institute for the Preservation of Jazz to perform as bassist in the 1st Annual California State University "All-Star Big Band" at Long Beach State University, working closely with legendary jazz composer and arranger Bill Holman in a tribute to Jerry Mulligan.

In 2005, Ian received his M.M. in composition from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where he studied with Elinor Armer, David Conte, and Dan Becker.  He was recipient of the Composition Honors Award, winner of the Highsmith Orchestral Composition Competition, and served as principal bass for the Conservatory Orchestra, Conservatory Baroque Ensemble, and the revered SFCM New Music Ensemble.  Ian has worked with ensembles such as the Universal Music Jazz Chamber Orchestra, Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra, Santa Rosa Symphony Chamber Players (string quartet), Sonoma State Chamber Orchestra, San Francisco Conservatory of Music Orchestra, SFCM New Music Ensemble, Golden Gate Men's Chorus, Del Sol Chamber Orchestra, Punk Rock Orchestra, JH Big Band, Mike Vax Big Band, and the 16mm Orchestra.

In addition to his work as a composer and arranger, Ian remains in great demand as a bassist and educator in both the jazz and classical worlds of the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles.  He has taught jazz studies and ensembles at Sonoma State University, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and throughout the various public school systems of the greater Bay Area.  In October of 2003, he performed at the grand opening of the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles along with the LA Philharmonic, Yo Yo Ma, the Henry Mancini Institute Big Band, and composer John Adams.  Ian has worked and performed with diverse musical artists such as Quincy Jones, Jerry Goldsmith, Christian McBride, Terrance Blanchard, Roy Hardgrove, Elmer Bernstein, Diana Krall, Shirley Horn, Diane Reeves, Bill Holman, Louis Bellson, Mark Levine, Pete Magadini, Barry Finnerty, John Clayton, Jack Elliot, Tim Ries, Danny Spencer, Michael Abene, Lee Press-On and The Nails, the Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, Leslie Ann Jones, Vince Mendoza, Bob Brookmeyer, Manny Albam, Joseph Jennings, and members of the Dead Kennedys, The Damned, and The Rolling Stones.

Amongst his many projects, Ian serves as Director for the Punk Rock Orchestra and President of the Bay Area Composer's Circle in San Francisco, and is on the music faculty at the Marin School of the Arts in Novato, CA.