In the fall of 2005, Cumberland University President Dr. Harvill Eaton announced the formation of the COSMIC FACULTY JAZZ ENSEMBLE. The group performs concerts on the Cumberland campus as well as elsewhere across the community. All Cosmic Faculty members serve as adjunct instructors within the CU School of Music & the Arts.

All seven members of the Cosmic Faculty are also accomplished professional musicians. Grammy Award Winners Jeff Coffin (saxophonist/composer) and Futureman (percussionist/composer) are members of the internationally acclaimed Bela Fleck & the Flecktones; Barry Green (trombonist) is considered Nashville's "No. 1 Call" studio trombonist and has worked with the likes of Larry Carlton, Keith Urban and the Neville Bros.; trumpeter extraordinaire Rod McGaha is a past winner of the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award for Outstanding Jazz Trumpeter and the Oak Lawn Jazz Festival All-Star Award, and McGaha's song "Wish I Knew" was recorded by Shelby Lynne and is featured in the film "Two If By Sea;" guitarist/recording artist Paul Carrol Binkley has toured with the RIAA's Country Band of the Century, Alabama and has created award-winning music and sound design for a number of accomplished companies; pianist/composer Chris Walters (aka The Pianimator) has performed with Alabama, Pete Mayer and the Nashville Symphony Orchestra; and Cumberland University Director of Bands Joe Murphy (tuba virtuoso/bassist/arranger) has played live and on hundreds of recording projects with artists such as Michael Bolton and Michael W. Smith.

Performances by the Cosmic Faculty are announced on the community calendar.

To listen to samples of the Cosmic Faculty's recordings, please visit the Cosmic Faculty MySpace website.