The son of Jamaican immigrants and a native of Baltimore, Maryland, Dr. Oscar Passley graduated from Morgan State University with a B.A. in music where he studied trumpet with Melvin Miles. He finished master’s degrees in trumpet performance and music education as well as his Doctor of Musical Arts in trumpet performance under the tutelage of Mike Steinel and John Holt at the University of North Texas. Passley has shared the stage with notable musicians such as Andrea Bocelli, Gladys and "Bubba" Knight, Regina Carter, and Wynton Marsalis.