Libby Hall, University of Utah Salt Lake City, Utah 5:00 pm, Thursday, July 13, 2023
Program
Boiling Point - - - Chris Evan Hass (b. 1993) World Premiere
In the Woods Behind Baskerville - - - Amber Sheeran (b. 1999) World Premiere
Cloudlands - - - James M. David (b. 1978) World Premiere Daniel Watt, soloist
Distant Promises - - - Kevin Poelking (b. 1988) World Premiere
Dr. Drew Leslie, Director Tenor Trombones: James David, Jonnina Edmunds, Andrew Hanze, Christian Heck, Caelan Herk, Brenna Hudson, Susannah Huston, Dylan Leftwich, Bryce Medlyn, Finn Oliger, Joseph Raby, Corbin Ridenbaugh, Ryan Starr, Yonathan Wassen, Andrew Zimbelman Bass Trombones: Fletcher Ayres, Brandon Graese, Adria Leos, Shae Mitchell
The Colorado State University Trombone Choir is a pedagogical extension of the trombone studio at CSU. Trombone students from across campus, representing music majors, music minors and various other majors come together to rehearse and perform original music written and arranged for this ensemble. The group performs multiple on and off campus concerts each year in a variety of settings and allows players at different ability levels to play next to and learn from each other, and serves to increase the camaraderie and positive environment within the trombone studio. For the 2023 International Trombone Festival the CSU Trombone Choir will be presenting world premieres of four exciting new works by composers Chris Evan Hass, Amber Sheeran (CSU alum), Kevin Poelking (CSU faculty) and James M. David (CSU faculty) and featuring guest soloist Daniel Watt (principal trombonist, Fort Collins Symphony). The CSU Trombone Choir is directed by Dr. Drew Leslie, Associate Professor of Trombone and Undergraduate Coordinator in the School of Music, Theatre and Dance.
Dr. Drew Leslie, a native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, joined the faculty of Colorado State University School of Music, Theatre, and Dance in Fall 2019 and currently serves as associate professor of trombone and Undergraduate Coordinator. Prior to CSU, Dr. Leslie was associate professor of trombone at the Hayes School of Music at Appalachian State University. Active as a solo, chamber, and orchestral musician, Dr. Leslie has performance experience in a wide variety of settings. He has played with the symphony orchestras of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, Greeley, Cheyenne (Wyoming), Hawai'i, Charlotte (North Carolina), Kansas City (Missouri), Eugene (Oregon), Winston-Salem (North Carolina), Greensboro (North Carolina), Austin (Texas), Toledo (Ohio), Kalamazoo (Michigan), and Lansing (Michigan), as well as the Santo Domingo Festival Orchestra of the Dominican Republic and the Aspen Music Festival Orchestra and Chamber Symphony. He has also performed at the Jungfrau Music Festival (Switzerland), the Mid-Europe Festival (Austria), the Wiltz Open-Air Festival (Luxembourg), the Festival Veranos de la Villa (Spain), and has been featured in performances at the International Trombone Festival, the American Trombone Workshop, the Big XII Trombone Conference, and the International Association of Jazz Educators Conference. He played a Midwest tour with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble and has accompanied a wide variety of other artists including Wu Tang Clan, the Wailers, Tower of Power, Ray Charles, Bernadette Peters, Jake Shimabukuru and Michael Feinstein. Dr. Leslie has given numerous solo recitals at universities and festivals throughout the country and has been a featured soloist with the CSU Symphony Orchestra, CSU Wind Symphony, Appalachian Symphony Orchestra, Appalachian Wind Ensemble, the MU University Band, the University of Texas Wind Symphony, the Longhorn Summer Band, and the Ann Arbor Concert Band. He is currently a member of the Blue Ridge Trombone Quartet and maintains an active performance schedule across the country. Equally as passionate about music education, Leslie has maintained active private studios in Colorado, Michigan, Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina and has served on the faculty of the CSU Brass Workshop, Tromboot Camp, Cannon Music Camp and the Longhorn Summer Music Camp. In addition, he worked as a teaching assistant at the University of Texas at Austin and was the visiting assistant professor of trombone at the University of Missouri for two years. Dr. Leslie received his Doctor of Musical Arts in Trombone Performance from the University of Texas at Austin, his M.M. from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City, and his B.M. from the University of Michigan. Additionally, he spent four summers studying and performing at the Aspen Music Festival and School, including two as a fellowship student. His primary instructors include Nathaniel Brickens, Per Brevig, Michael Powell, David Jackson, H. Dennis Smith, and Jonathan Holtfreter. He is a member of the International Trombone Association, the College Music Society, and the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity. Drew Leslie is a Conn-Selmer Artist-Clinician and performs on Vincent Bach trombones.
Daniel Watt, a native of Colorado, is an active freelance musician across the Front Range. Mr. Watt serves as principal trombonist with the Fort Collins Symphony, the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra, and the Steamboat Springs Orchestra, and is second trombonist with the Cheyenne Symphony. Mr. Watt joined the faculty of the University of Wyoming in 2016 as instructor of trombone and euphonium, and maintains a private studio. Mr. Watt received his Master's of Music from Northwestern University where he studied with Michael Mulcahy and Peter Ellefson, and his Bachelor's of Music from the University of Denver where he studied with Dr. Joseph Martin and Warren Deck.