Jade Kastel

Jade Kastel is a multifaceted academic and artist, currently serving as a Lecturer in the Art, Music, and Theatre department at the University of Illinois Springfield. Appointed in 2025, she teaches jazz and classical saxophone, directs the UIS Jazz Ensemble, and contributes as woodwind and piano faculty in the UIS Community Music School. Additionally, she holds the position of Deputy Director at the Illinois State Library, where she advances diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

• Degree in Jazz Performance and Queer Studies
• Expertise in LGBTQ+ representation in jazz
• Active in music, librarianship, and visual arts

Her research bridges jazz performance with queer theory, focusing on marginalized identities in music history. In 2023, she received the Illinois Academic Librarian of the Year award and pioneered DEI programs at Western Illinois University Libraries. Her artistic work incorporates mixed media and found objects from magnet fishing, exhibited in 2025 at Springfield Art Association and Perspectives Art Gallery.

Scientific Awards:

• Illinois Academic Librarian of the Year (2023)
• Institute of Jazz Studies Archival Fellowship (2019)