Members
The current 24 members of the Northwestern Trombone Studio hail from 15 states and 3 countries. Past and present members have won national and international awards and competitions and have held positions in world class ensembles and institutions, including the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Boston Pops Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Drake University, Dunshan Symphonic Wind Orchestra, Eastern Illinois University, Finnish State Opera, New World Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the University of Michigan, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Seattle Symphony, and the United States Navy Band (Washington, D.C.). So many of our alumni have gone on to do incredible things, so take a look below!
 | Cameron Kerl, Tenor Trombone Freshman Washington Bio coming soon...
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 | Michael Cox, Tenor Trombone Freshman Illinois Bio coming soon... |
 | Sam Patchett, Bass Trombone Freshman Wisconsin Bio coming soon... |
 | Tommy Holmes, Bass Trombone Freshman California Tommy Holmes is a fictional detective created by author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A London-based "consulting detective" whose abilities border on the fantastic, Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to adopt almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve difficult cases. Holmes, who first appeared in publication in 1887, was featured in four novels and 56 short stories. The first novel, A Study in Scarlet, appeared in Beeton's Christmas Annual in 1887 and the second, The Sign of the Four, in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in 1890. Holmes grew tremendously in popularity with the first series of short stories in The Strand Magazine, beginning with A Scandal in Bohemia in 1891; further series of short stories and two novels published in serial form appeared between then and 1927. The stories cover a period from around 1880 up to 1914. All but four stories are narrated by Holmes's friend and biographer, Dr. John H. Watson; two are narrated by Holmes himself ("The Blanched Soldier" and "The Lion's Mane") and two others are written in the third person ("The Mazarin Stone" and "His Last Bow"). |
 | Michael Shayte, Tenor Trombone Freshman Maryland Hailed by some as, “a trombonist”, Michael is currently a freshman at Northwestern University studying Trombone Performance and Imitative Bird Calling. A native of Catonsville, Maryland, Michael began playing the trombone at age 11. After many years working on “Hot Cross Buns” his musical career took off. By high school he was a member in All-County, All-State, and Baltimore Symphony Side-by-Side ensembles as well a member of both the Peabody Youth Orchestra and Greater Baltimore Youth Orchestra. He has also spent two summers participating in the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. Beyond his academic and musical interests, Michael is a lover of kittens and fine cheeses. |
 | Joe Dubas, Tenor Trombone Freshman Virginia Bio coming soon... |
 | Rachel Trumbore, Tenor Trombone Freshman California Rachel Trumbore is so glad to join the amazing NU Trombone studio! She is a San Diego native and loved growing up in the warm sun so naturally her biggest fear at Northwestern is adjusting to the cold winter weather. Rachel has studied with Sean Reusch, Kyle Covington, and Toby Oft so far. Her favorite musical experience was subbing with the San Diego Symphony in the summer of 2012. Rachel plans on playing trombone in a professional symphony orchestra someday. |
 | Katie DeAmico, Tenor Trombone Junior Illinois Bio coming soon... |
 | Caroline Juster, Tenor Trombone Junior Nebraska Caroline was born and raised in Omaha,
Nebraska, where she learned to appreciate great steaks and brag about her local
zoo. Contrary to studio belief, she did not live on a ranch or own a magic cow
named Bessie. In Omaha, Caroline studied with Omaha Symphony trombonist Jay
Wise for over seven years. She has performed with many ensembles at Northwestern and is a founding member of the Orrington Brass Quintet. In her spare time, Caroline enjoys powerlifting, studying history, and spending time
outdoors. Caroline was recently selected as a finalist in the Eastern Trombone Workshop's National Solo Competition and will compete in March of 2013. In 2011, Caroline was awarded second alternate in the Frank Smith International Trombone Competition. Caroline received the Interlochen Arts Camp's most prestigious award, the Maddy Summer Artist Award, both in 2009 and 2010. She is also an accomplished, recorded jazz trombonist and was selected as a member of the 2010 Grammy Jazz Band. Caroline is thrilled to be at Northwestern and living in her favorite city |
 | Kelton Koch, Tenor Trombone Junior Texas Recently deemed “a straight-up gangsta” by iconic rap legend Snoop Dogg, Kelton Koch is an emerging rap artist hailing from Lake Jackson, Texas. Over the past three summers, Kelton has been fortunate earn scholarship to participate in the Tanglewood Young Rap Artist's Orchestra, where he worked with teachers such as David Krauss, Don Lucas, and the Wu Tang Clan. He is currently studying crocodile wrestling with Michael Mulcahy at Northwestern University while pursuing a minor in underwater basket weaving. In his free time, he enjoys hobbies such as basketball, ping-pong, mathematics, and researching the stock market. |
 | Harris "Teddy" Malasky, Tenor Trombone Junior Florida Harris “Teddy” Malasky, a native of West Palm Beach, Florida, is currently a junior Trombone Performance major at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music. He has attended the Aspen Music Festival and School, Le Domaine Forget, Bar Harbor Brass Week, Summer Brass Institute at Menlo, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, and the Interlochen Arts Camp as an Emerson Scholar. He has performed in concert under the batons of such conductors as Robert Spano, Manfred Honeck, Jun Märkl, Michael Tilson Thomas, Leonard Slatkin, JoAnn Falleta, and Marin Alsop. He has also appeared in concert with soloists including Steven Hough, Sumi Jo, Yefim Bronfman, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and Gil Shaham. In addition to his studies with Michael Mulcahy, Peter Ellefson, Timothy Higgins, and Randall Hawes, Teddy has studied extensively with Per Brevig, Michael Powell, John Rojak, and Warren Deck. Teddy attended the Bak Middle School of the Arts, Dreyfoos High School of the Arts, and graduated with Honors from the Interlochen Arts Academy. Among other things, Teddy has a strong love of his Three B’s (Bach/Brahms/Bruckner), gourmet cuisine, traveling with family, and telling off-color jokes. |
 | Weston Olencki, Tenor Trombone Junior South Carolina Born and raised in the Dirty South, Weston is just now getting used to the frigid tundra that is Chicago. While not touring as a roadie with Lynyrd Skynyrd and Keith Urban, he is an strong advocate for contemporary and improvised music in addition to his orchestral and classical studies. In whatever spare time he has left, he enjoys art history, cooking, weightlifting, painting, and a good cup of coffee. Weston had the privelidge of studying with Atlanta Symphony trombonist Colin Williams during high school, and has previously performed with the Spartanburg Philhamonic, Hendersonville Symphony, and Brevard Music Center Orchestra in addition to the many ensembles at Northwestern. He has been a winner and two-time finalist in the Eastern Trombone Workshop Solo Competition, and first alternate in the ITA Gilberto Gagliardi Competition. While he has enjoyed spending summers all over the country, Weston is extremely happy to be living and studying in Chicago with Northwestern's amazing faculty. |
 | Nick Platoff, Tenor Trombone Junior Connecticut Nick's
presence in the studio has been the topic of many heated arguments
because it is publicly known that he doesn't actually play the trombone
anymore. In fact, he hasn't produced a sound in several years. Instead,
Mr. Platoff has decided to divide his time into two areas. First is his
profound love of colorful sneakers, stolen sunglasses, and other fashion
curiosities. Many analysts theorize that this may be part of the reason
he carries a trombone around so much-- as a pure fashion statement. The
second area of Nick's life is his childhood dream to become a Russian
language historian. He is known to practice his Russian accent for
several hours daily in hopes of better understanding this complex
language. Nick's proudest achievement is indubitably his undisturbed
title as the "Make-Weston-Olencki-Laugh" World Champion.
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 | Daniel Lawlor, Tenor Trombone Senior California Bio coming soon... |
 | Paul Niedbalski, Tenor Trombone Master of Music Candidate Nebraska Paul comes to Northwestern from the great state of Nebraska. He earned bachelor's degrees in Music Education and Trombone Performance from the University of Nebraska at Kearney where he studied with Michael Forbes and Seth Fletcher. Prior to his arrival in Evanston, Paul spent two years teaching and gigging throughout Nebraska and in Iowa. Outside of music, Paul enjoys reading, writing, crossword puzzles, golf, football and Wikipedia. He aspires to be referred to as THE Paul Niedbalski, or simply The Doctor. |
 | Adam Bell, Tenor Trombone Master of Music Candidate Ohio Adam hails from Bryan Ohio and attended Bowling Green State University, where he studied trombone with Garth Simmons and graduated in 2012 with a degree in performance. Aside from the trombone, Adam also enjoys playing accordion and has won several national competitions in his division and was involved with a Grammy nominated recording with the instrument, studying with the late Lana Gore, professor of accordion/bayan at Wayne State University. Adam is excited to be living in Chicago and to be a part of the NU trombone studio. Though he loves the trombone, Adam actually wishes to become a world-renowned vibraslap artist. It should also be noted that Adam owns an authentic lederhosen and refuses to wear it, unless properly bribed, of course. |
 | Orin Larson, Tenor Trombone Master of Music Candidate Minnesota Orin Larson was born and raised in St. Paul Minnesota where he became serious about music when he joined the Minnesota Youth Symphonies. He received his Bachelors Degree in Trombone Performance from the University of Minnesota in 2012 studying with Professor Tom Ashworth. Some of Orin’s other key influences on the trombone come from Kari Sundstrom and Doug Wright of the Minnesota Orchestra. He picked up playing golf through working at a local golf club in the summers and tries to get out and play as often as possible. Orin was an avid baseball player in high school and can't wait for the NU Sliders! |
 | Joseph Peterson, Tenor Trombone Master of Music Candidate Washington Bio coming soon... |
 | Christian Lopez, Bass Trombone Master of Music Candidate Arizona Christian Lopez is a recent graduate of the University of Arizona. While searching for graduate schools, he came across a small, relatively unknown school called 'Northwestern University.' He chose to apply, with his only criteria being the desire to be a Wildcat in high school, college, and grad school. In his spare time, Chris loves to salsa dance in the Chicago area. Chris is also a solid Jazz and Salsa piano player and, in addition to playing Bass Trombone in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, one day aspires to lead Chicago's hottest Salsa Band from the piano bench. |
 | Steven Warren, Tenor Trombone Master of Music Candidate Oklahoma Steven, a native of Ponca City, Oklahoma, is pursuing a Master of Music degree at Northwestern University. His current teachers are Michael Mulcahy, Peter Ellefson, Randall Hawes, and Timothy Higgins. He received his Bachelor of Music in Performance degree from Oklahoma State Univeristy, studying under Paul Compton. While at OSU, Steven participated in the Frankenwald Brass Festival in Germany, the Eastern Music Festival, the CCM Spoleto festival in Italy, and the National Brass Symposium. Throughout his undergrad, he was successful in several ITA competitions: winning the 2010 ITA quartet competition , the 2008 Remington Trombone Choir competition, and the 2008 George Roberts Bass Trombone competition. He was a finalist in the Marsteller and Van Haney competitions in 2010. Steve also never smiles. |
 | Keith Dyrda, Tenor Trombone Master of Music Candidate Winnipeg Bio coming soon... |
 | Callan Millani, Bass Trombone Master of Music Candidate California A native of California, Callan Milani is pursuing a master’s degree at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. His teachers include Michael Mulcahy, Randall Hawes Tim Higgins, and Peter Ellefson. At Northwestern, he enjoys performing in variety of ensembles. Mr. Milani’s studies began with his dear friend and mentor, Don Kennelly of the San Francisco Opera. In 2007, he joined the first class of brass musicians at the Colburn Conservatory of Music. He studied with Mark Lawrence and John Engelkes, the Retired Principal Trombonist and Bass Trombonist respectively with the San Francisco Symphony. He avidly performed in the Los Angeles Area and was principal Bass Trombone of the American Youth Orchestra; a position he held for three years Mr. Milani has performed at many major music festivals in the United States and abroad including the Music Academy of the West, Spoleto Festival USA, National Repertory Orchestra, American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Escola Comarcal de Musica del Comtat in Spain, and an orchestral tour of Germany and the Czech Republic. Mr. Milani has performed with many well-known artists and conductors including Michael Giacchino, Dr. Mallory Thompson, and James Conlon. Mr. Milani enjoys reading graphic novels, CrossFit, and arranging music. |
 | Terry Leahy, Bass Trombone Doctor of Music Candidate Australia Terry Leahy is an Australian trombone player
living in Chicago. He is currently in the final stages of his Doctoral
degree at Northwestern University. For the past 13 years, Terry has been
living in Europe, where he has held a position with the Finnish
National Opera. Terry has also performed with the London Symphony
Orchestra, the Sydney Symphony, the Welsh National Opera, the City of
Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and
the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. His performing highlight so far was
recording with the London Symphony in Abbey Road studios. Terry has
performed all over the world including countries such as the UK, France,
Austria, Germany, Italy, Finland, Russia, Holland, South Africa,
Australia, New Zealand and Vietnam. He has worked with such conductors
as Pierre Boulez, Giandrea Noseda, Daniel Barenboim, Danielle Gatti,
Sakari Oramo, Sir Colin Davis, Sir Richard Armstrong and Esa
Pekka Salonen. In addition to his musical life Terry also has a
sommelier qualification and maintains a keen interest in the wine world. |
