Cory, Nueva's Director of Outreach, Music, and Enrichment, was previously at the school as an innovative curriculum designer and educator from 2004 through 2007. He introduced initiatives such as digital music, digital filmmaking, jazz band, improvisation, rock band, and rock history. During his time away from Nueva, he served as SFJAZZ's director of education, one of the preeminent artistic jazz performance and education programs in the United States. During his tenure, he was a senior management team member, responsible for community outreach and strategic partnerships, and design and implementation of educational programs, and he lectured widely on jazz history, interviewed numerous international performing artists on-stage, and played an instrumental role in the successful launch of the $60-million capital campaign to finance SFJAZZ's first permanent home. In addition to his work at SFJAZZ and Nueva, Cory served as director and founder of the San Francisco Brass Weekend, music director of San Francisco's Waldorf High School, and director of jazz at the American Festival of the Arts in Houston. Cory is an accomplished composer and bassist who has performed with numerous internationally known jazz artists and groups, and has released three critically acclaimed CDs of original compositions. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from the world-renowned Eastman School of Music in New York.