Competitions

Frank Smith Tenor Trombone Competition

sponsored by Butler Trombones, Rejano Mutes, Cherry Classics

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

First Prize – Butler Carbon Fiber Outer Slide, Rejano Mutes Practice Mute, Gift Certificate to Cherry Classics, Lessons with Professional Trombonists

General Requirements Recording Guidelines

Competition Rules

  • Live piano accompaniment is required.
  • The required repertoire should be recorded as one complete, unedited take, and submitted as a single video file, recorded from a single, uninterrupted camera angle. Accepted file formats include: MP4, MPEG, MPG, MOV, AVI, WMV, M4V, FLV, WEBM, M2V
  • No editing of either video or audio is allowed.
  • No written signs, name tags or other written material is to be visible in the video.
  • Both performers should be clearly visible in the video throughout the performance, with the trombonist as the focal point. In the event both performers do fit in the frame, due to social distancing or use of pre-recorded piano accompaniment, the trombonist must still be completely visible throughout the performance.
  • The submitted file must not contain any identifying information. The video file should be named: “SmithEntry.mov” (.mp4, etc.)
  • Past winners of the Frank Smith Tenor Trombone Competition are not eligible to enter the 2025 Smith competition.

Repertoire Requirements

Preliminary Round:
Enrique Crespo – Improvisation No. 1

Final Round:
Kevin Day – Sonata in One Movement 

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

  • 1975

    John Vance

    University of Northern Colorado

  • 1976

    Ken Crane

    Berklee College of Music

  • 1977

    Stan Adams

    University of Southern Illinois

  • 1978

    Don Lucas

    Texas Tech University

  • 1979

    Chris Matten

    University of Texas-Austin

  • 1980

    Paul Hunt

    Youngstown State University

  • 1981

    Tom Ashworth

    University of North Texas

  • 1982

    Susan K. Smith

    University of North Texas

  • 1983

    Stephen B. Parsons

    University of Kansas

  • 1984

    David Vining

    Florida State University

  • 1985

    Mark R. Williams

    University of Texas-Austin

  • 1986

    Steve Schoppert

    McNeese State University

  • 1987

    Julie Josephson

    New England Conservatory

  • 1988

    Jeff Knutson

    Eastman School of Music

  • 1989

    no recipient

  • 1990

    no recipient

  • 1991

    Lynn Mostoller

    Eastman School of Music

  • 1992

    Algat Abduraimov

    Kazakhstan

  • 1993

    James Fantz

    University of Houston

  • 1994

    Jon Etterbeek

    Juilliard School of Music

  • 1995

    Tricia Baran

    Arizona State University

  • 1996

    Barry Hearn

    University of Illinois

  • 1997

    Norbert Laczko

    Franz Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest, Hungary

  • 1998

    Stephen Lange

    Indiana University

  • 1999

    Nathan Zgonc

    San Francisco Conservatory

  • 2000

    Jerry Hou

    University of Minnesota

  • 2001

    Clifford Dale Moore II

    Florida State University

  • 2002

    James Williams

    Juilliard School of Music

  • 2003

    Robert Kozanek

    Academy of Performing Arts, Prague

  • 2004

    Simeon Stoyanov

    Central Michigan University

  • 2005

    Marques Young

    Juilliard School of Music

  • 2006

    Quirijn van der Bijlaard

    Rotterdam Conservatory

  • 2007

    Jeremy Wilson

    University of North Texas

  • 2008

    Steve Menard

    University of San Francisco

  • 2009

    Kyle Mullins

    University of North Texas

  • 2010

    Christopher Wolf

    Juilliard School of Music

  • 2011

    Li Kuang

    Bowling Green State University

  • 2012

    Eric Bowman

    Western Michigan University

  • 2013

    Josh Balleza

    University of Texas at Austin

  • 2014

    Sebastiaan Kemner

    Conservatorium van Amsterdam

  • 2015

    Joao Martinho

    Universität der Kü̈nste Berlin

  • 2016

    Paul Radke

    Shepherd School of Music, Rice University

  • 2017

    Ricardo Pedrares

    Juilliard School School of Music

  • 2018

    Tolga Akman

    Hannover Hochschule fur Musik und Theater, Medien

  • 2019

    Evan Williams

    University of Texas at Austin

  • 2020

    Mustafa Khalilov (Co-Winner)

    Conservatory Rayonnement Regional De Paris

  • 2020

    Timothy Maines (Co-Winner)

    Northwestern University

  • 2020

    Jamey Morgan (Co-Winner)

    Michigan State University

  • 2021

    Polina Tarasenko

    Hochschule für Musik, Theater, und Medien, Hannover

  • 2022

    Tim Ouwejan

    Conservatory of Amsterdam

  • 2023

    András Dénes

    The Liszt Ferenc Academy Of Music

  • 2024

    Gracie Potter

    The Colburn School