powerful, energetic and perfect technique,
A super soloist responsible for the New York Philharmonic sound!
Photo by Chris Lee
In the spring of 1985, he was appointed principal player of the New York Philharmonic. He began his music career in his hometown of California with his father and was a soloist with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra while attending high school in San Rafael. He then studied at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. After four seasons with the Philadelphia Orchestra, he joined the New York Philharmonic after working with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra.
Active as a soloist and chamber musician, he made his soloist debut with the New York Philharmonic in Creston's Fantasia in the spring of 1990. In 1992, he premiered the Pulitzer Prize-winning Christopher Routh Trombone Concerto, commissioned to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the New York Philharmonic. In 2000, he performed James Pugh's Trombone Concerto with the New York Philharmonic.
Invited as a soloist with the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra, National Repertory Orchestra, Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, Santa Barbara Symphony Orchestra, New Japan Philharmonic, Bellini Opera Orchestra, Mannheim State Opera Orchestra, and The Hague Philharmonic, he has participated in music festivals around the world such as Festivale Musica di Camera in Protogruaro (Italy), Cabrillo Music Festival, Swiss Brass Week, and Lieksa Brass Week (Finland). In 1997, he was invited to the International Trombone Festival (Feldkirch, Austria) and the International Congress of Wind Instruments (L'Isle, France). He is also a founding member of Summit Brass at the Rafael Mendez Brass Institute (Tempe, Arizona).
He has taught at Temple University (Philadelphia), the Grand Teton Music Festival (Wyoming), and currently teaches at the Juilliard School, with students in major orchestras across the United States. He has given masterclasses all over the world, especially in Europe, where he offers masterclasses and recitals. He has been invited as a soloist by the West Point Military Band, Hanover Wind Symphony, Ridgewood, New Jersey Concert Band, and others.
His CDs include "Slide Area" (D'Note Records), "New York Legend" (Cala), and "Fandango" with Philip Smith, Principal Trumpet of the New York Philharmonic. A live recording of Routh's concerto with the New York Philharmonic was also released as a CD titled "American Celebration Vol. 2". In 1999, he was invited to record a new work by the International Trombone Association, which was distributed to its 5,000 members worldwide. In recent years, George Crumb's "Starchild" (Bridge Records) won a Grammy Award in 1999-2000, and a recording with Canadian Brass (Sony Classical) (Philip Records) has also been released.