Bio

Trombonist Jeremy Wilson has built an international career as a performer, teacher, recording artist, and advocate for the trombone, with performances in 38 countries across six continents. He is Professor of Trombone at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music, where he has developed one of the premier undergraduate trombone programs in the United States. Beyond Vanderbilt, his recordings, educational projects, commissioning work, and performances have made his work familiar to trombonists around the world.

Wilson is perhaps most widely known for his Standard Repertoire Project, an ongoing series of reference performances and practical teaching videos devoted to the core literature of the trombone. Since its launch on YouTube in 2018, the project has reached hundreds of thousands of viewers and become a widely used resource for students and teachers worldwide. Through performance, commentary, and practical guidance, Wilson seeks not only to make the instrument’s great repertoire more approachable, but also to encourage musicians to think more deeply about artistry, preparation, and communication.

That same commitment is reflected in his work to expand the trombone’s repertoire. Since 2016, Wilson has commissioned and/or premiered more than 40 new works for trombone, collaborating with a wide range of composers to broaden the expressive possibilities of the instrument. Many of these works are documented on his three solo albums, Aurora (2023), For the Beauty of the Earth (2021), and Perspectives (2018), each of which received Silver Medal recognition from the Global Music Awards. Taken together, his commissions, recordings, performances, and online resources form a growing body of work intended not only for today’s audiences, but for future generations of trombonists.

Wilson is also the creator of the Body Mind Spirit Method, a holistic philosophy and set of practices designed to help musicians perform more effectively while building healthy, sustainable, and fulfilling lives in music. His teaching increasingly explores the connections between musicianship, creativity, professional development, personal well-being, and a meaningful career.

Wilson’s professional journey began in an unusual way. On his first-ever orchestral audition, at the age of 24, he won a position with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and its sister organization, the orchestra of the Vienna State Opera. He spent five seasons in Vienna as a Wechselposaunist, performing on second trombone, first trombone, bass trumpet, and euphonium. At the time, he was the sole American member of the orchestras.

Those years placed Wilson inside two of the world’s most storied musical institutions during a formative period of his life. He performed hundreds of Vienna Philharmonic concerts under many of the leading conductors of the era and traveled with the orchestra throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America. At the Vienna State Opera, he performed more than 550 opera and ballet performances encompassing 85 works, including five complete Wagner Ringcycles. Much of the distinctive lyricism that characterizes his playing was shaped in the opera pit, listening night after night as singers such as Renée Fleming, Thomas Hampson, Elīna Garanča, Juan Diego Flórez, and Jonas Kaufmann commanded the stage.

During his five seasons in Vienna, Wilson performed in 29 countries and appeared in many of the world’s great concert halls, including Carnegie Hall, Suntory Hall, the Sydney Opera House, the Royal Concertgebouw, the Royal Albert Hall, and the Vienna Philharmonic’s home, the Wiener Musikverein. His work with the Philharmonic and State Opera between 2007 and 2012 is documented on numerous audio and video recordings.

In 2012, Wilson returned to his home state of Tennessee to pursue a longtime passion for teaching while continuing an active performing career. He has served as guest principal trombonist with the Nashville Symphony, performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and appeared and recorded with the Saito Kinen Orchestra at the invitation of Seiji Ozawa. He has also performed film music under John Williams with the Nashville Symphony and under Joe Hisaishi at Carnegie Hall.

As a soloist, Wilson has appeared with ensembles in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia, including the Cairo Symphony, Cuban-American Wind Symphony, National Symphonic Band of Colombia, and U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own.” His performances, recitals, and presentations have been featured at many of the field’s leading festivals and conferences, including the International Trombone Festival, American Trombone Workshop, Asia Brass Festival, Lieksa Brass Week, and Prague Spring Festival.

Wilson’s musical life also spans chamber music, jazz, commercial recording, and orchestral performance. He is a member of Vanderbilt’s Blair Brass Quintet and has recorded with the Aries Trombone Quartet and TRIIIOMNIA. He performs with the Ryan Middagh Jazz Orchestra and remains active in Nashville’s recording and scoring community, with credits on film, television, and video game projects including Destiny 2, Ratchet & Clank, Call of Duty, The Last Witch Hunter, and Final Fantasy XV.

Teaching, however, remains at the center of Wilson’s work. He has presented masterclasses, workshops, performances, and lectures at universities and conservatories throughout the United States and abroad, and has served on the faculties of programs including the Czech Brass Academy, Alessi Seminar, and Pokorny Low Brass Seminar. His Vanderbilt students regularly earn recognition in national and international competitions, attend leading summer festivals, pursue graduate study at major institutions, and build careers both within music and beyond it.

At Vanderbilt, Wilson is founder and conductor of the Vanderbilt Trombone Ensemble and founder and host of the Vanderbilt Trombone Symposium. His service to the university has also included a term as Vice-Chair of the Vanderbilt Faculty Senate. In 2017, he received the Blair School of Music Faculty Excellence Award.

Wilson studied music education and trombone performance at the University of Tennessee, where he was a Presser Scholar, before earning a Master of Music degree from the University of North Texas. His principal teachers have included Don Hough, Vern Kagarice, Jan Kagarice, Tony Baker, and Tom Lundberg.

Wilson lives in Franklin, Tennessee, with his wife, Kristi, their three children, and their dog, Teddy. Away from music, he enjoys woodworking, cheering for Nashville Soccer Club, and cooking chicken and dumplings.