Competitions

Edward Kleinhammer Orchestral Bass Trombone Competition

sponsored by Greg Black Mouthpieces, Rejano Mutes, Cherry Classics, Cimarron Music Press, C. Sharpe Editions

For trombonists ages 25 and under (birth date of January 1, 1999 or later)

First Prize – a Greg Black Mouthpiece (stock silver), Rejano Mutes Practice Mute, gift certificates to Cherry Classics, Cimarron Music Press, and C. Sharpe Editions, Lessons with Professional Trombonists

General Requirements Recording Guidelines

Competition Rules

  • The required repertoire should be submitted as a single audio file, with no editing within the submitted recording. All excerpts must be performed in the order listed. Accepted file formats include: MP3, OGG, M4A, WMA, WAV, AAC, FLAC, AIFF, AIF. Video entries are not accepted for this competition.
  • Preliminary round excerpts may be recorded separately, but there may be no editing within an individual excerpt. All selections should be recorded at the same location with the same recording setup.
  • The submitted file must not contain any identifying information. The audio file should be named: “KleinhammerEntry.mp3” (.wav, etc.)
  • Past winners of the Edward Kleinhammer Orchestral Bass Trombone Competition are not eligible to enter the 2025 Kleinhammer competition.

Repertoire Requirements

Preliminary Round

  • Hector Berlioz, The Damnation of Faust, Hungarian March, 6 bars before rehearsal [4] through two bars after rehearsal [5]
  • Joseph Haydn – The Creation, No. 26, beginning through 19th bar of rehearsal [B]
  • Robert Schumann – Symphony No. 3, beginning through 13 measures after [A]
  • Richard Wagner – Ride of the Valkyries – pickups to [3] to 2 measures before [4] AND pickups to [5] to 3 measures after [6]

Final Round

Excerpts to be chosen from Preliminary Round repertoire, and the following:

  • Richard Strauss – Ein Heldenleben, rehearsal [55] through [59] AND 2 measures after [61] through [66]
  • Zoltán Kodály – Háry János Suite, Movement 4, 5th bar of rehearsal [5] through 10th bar of rehearsal [6]
  • Ernst Sachse – Concertino for Bass Trombone, Theme and Variations section, with piano

Submission Instructions

Completed applications must be submitted prior to the deadline and meet ITA membership and other requirements outlined on this page. Application fees (see below) will be charged at the time of application (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, JCB, Discover, and Diners Club are accepted.)

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Past Winners

Year
Winner
School

  • 1993

    Jon Etterbeek

    Juilliard School of Music

  • 1994

    Darren McHenry

    Juilliard School of Music

  • 1995

    Stephen Lange

    Indiana University

  • 1996

    Norbert Lakzsko

    Franz Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest, Hungary

  • 1997

    Mark Templeton

    Guildhall School of Music, London, England

  • 1998

    Garnett Livingston

    Juilliard School of Music

  • 1999

    Scott Parkinson

    Juilliard School of Music

  • 2000

    Jeffrey A. Gray

    Juilliard School of Music

  • 2001

    Darcio Gianelli

    Juilliard School of Music

  • 2002

    Wes Citron

    Manhattan School of Music

  • 2003

    Tenor – James Williams
    Bass – no winner

    Juilliard School of Music

  • 2004

    Tenor – Robert Kastner
    Bass – Dan West

    University of North Texas

  • 2005

    Tenor – Kyle Covington
    Bass – Matyas Veer

    Juilliard School of Music
    Liszt Academy of Music-Budapest

  • 2006

    Tenor – Marques Young
    Bass – Zachary Bond

    Juilliard School of Music
    Curtis Institute of Music graduate

  • 2007

    Tenor – Mark Davidson
    Bass – Ilan Morgenstern

    Juilliard School of Music
    University of Michigan

  • 2008

    Tenor- Shachar Israel

    Juilliard School of Music.

  • 2008

    Daniel Brady

    Southern Methodist University

  • 2009

    Christian Poitinger

    Universität für Musik, Vienna, Austria

  • 2010

    Jeremy Stones

    University of North Texas

  • 2011

    Raymond Flores

    Conservatorio de Musica de Puerto Rico

  • 2012

    Nuno Henriques

    Koninklijk Conservatorium, Den Haag, The Netherlands

  • 2013

    Scott P. Hartman

    DePaul University

  • 2014

    Gabriel Roberson

    Northwestern University

  • 2015

    Scott Nguyen

    Northwestern University

  • 2016

    Cameron Owen

    University of Alabama

  • 2017

    Christopher Bassett

    New England Conservatory

  • 2018

    Eden Garza

    Texas A&M University-Kingsville

  • 2019

    Adrian Gryciuk

    Conservatorium van Amsterdam

  • 2020

    Brian Entwistle (Co-Winner)

    DePaul University

  • 2020

    Alexander Mullins (Co-Winner)

    University of North Texas

  • 2020

    Dávid Sztranyák (Co-Winner)

    Liszt Academy of Music-Budapest

  • 2021

    Zachary Neikens

    The Juilliard School

  • 2022

    Ivan Cheung

    The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts

  • 2023

    Conor Wilson

    Baylor University

  • 2024

    Caleb Christiansen

    Rice University