About
Connor Frederick is a trombonist, composer, and music instructor. He is the winner of the American Trombone Workshop’s National Jazz Solo Competition (2017) and National Jazz Trombone Ensemble Competition (2018). In 2021, Connor was named the winner of the Frost School of Music Wind Ensemble Concerto Competition. He was also named a finalist in the International Trombone Association’s Carl Fontana Jazz Solo Competition (2017), a finalist in the Southeast Trombone Symposium’s Classical Tenor and Bass Trombone Solo Competition (2021), and received an honorable mention in the International Trombone Association J.J. Johnson Jazz Solo Competition (2020). Connor is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Jazz Performance and studied with legendary trombonist Jim Pugh. During this time, he performed and composed for the internationally award winning University of Illinois Jazz Trombone Ensemble I. In 2021 Connor completed his master’s degree in Trombone Performance at Pennsylvania State University, where he studied with Mark Lusk and Marko Marcinko. While at Penn State, Connor served as the graduate teaching assistant in both trombone and jazz studies, as well as directed the Outer Dimensions Jazz Ensemble and multiple jazz combos. Connor is currently completing his Doctorate of Musical Arts at the University of Miami Frost School of Music studying with Timothy Conner, where he is a fellow with the prestigious Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra as well as serves as the graduate teaching assistant in trombone.