Competitions
Frank Smith Tenor Trombone Competition
sponsored by TBA
For trombonists ages 25 and under (birth date of January 1, 1999 or later)
First Prize – TBA
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.)
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