Donald Yaxley Bass Trombone Competition

sponsored by TBA

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

First Prize – TBA

General Requirements

Recording Guidelines

  • Applicants must strictly follow the Recording Guidelines for the 2025 ITA Solo and Ensemble Competitions to avoid disqualification.

Competition Rules

  • Live piano accompaniment is required.
  • The required repertoire should be recorded as one complete, unedited take (no separate movements), 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: “YaxleyEntry.mov” (.mp4, etc.)
  • Past winners of the Donald Yaxley Bass Trombone Competition are not eligible to enter the 2025 Yaxley competition.

Repertoire Requirements

Preliminary Round:
Jerome Naulais – Monologue (IMD)

Final Round:
Eijiro Nakagawa – Trisense (available September 2024)

Past Winners

Year Winner School
1981 Paul Eachus  Indiana University
1982 John Wasson  University of North Texas
1983 Randy Campora  Florida State University
1984 Dan Satterwhite  University of North Texas
1985 Bruce Blomquist  University of Arizona
1986 Blair Bollinger  Curtis Institute of Music
1987 Harold Van Schaik  Eastman School of Music
1988 Matthew T. Guilford  New England Conservatory
1989 no recipient
1990 Robert Byrd  University of Southern Mississippi
1991 Robert Fournier  Indiana University
1992 Sergei Fedianin  Kazakhstan
1993 Steven Brown  University of Illinois
1994 Darren McHenry  Juilliard School of Music
1995 Norbert Lazsko  Franz Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest, Hungary
1996 Matthias Dangelmaier  Trossingen Musik Hochschule, Germany
1997 Michael McLemore  University of Texas-Austin
1998 J. Donald Crafton  Catholic University
1999 Joshua Brown  University of North Texas
2000 Jeffrey A. Gray  Juilliard School of Music
2001 Jussi Vuorinen  Sibelius Academy of Music, Helsinki, Finland
2002 Dan West  University of North Texas
2003 Zachary Bond Curtis Institute of Music
2004 Michael Brown University of Michigan
2005 Charles Reneau Juilliard School of Music
2006 Matyas Veer Liszt Academy of Music-Budapest
2007 Graeme Mutchler Juilliard School of Music
2008 Daniel Brady Southern Methodist University
2009 Nozomi Kasano Flatt New England Conservatory of Music
2010 Craig Flentge University of North Texas
2011 Christopher Hernacki University of Michigan
2012 Mateusz Sczendzina Hochschule für Musik, Hannover, Germany
2013 Rommert Groenhof Amsterdam Hogeschool voor de Kunsten, the Netherlands
2014 Scott P. Hartman DePaul University
2015 Marijn Migchielsen Codarts Rotterdam
2016 Adib Correa Vera no school affiliation
2017 Derek Mitchell University of Michigan
2018 Cameron Owen New England Conservatory
2019 Adrian Gryciuk Conservatorium van Amsterdam
2020 Co-Winner Eden Garza University of Texas at Austin
2020 Co-Winner Gabriel Boezi Gjerpe Norwegian Academy of Music
2020 Co-Winner Dávid Sztranyák Liszt Academy of Music-Budapest
2021 Ivan Cheung The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts
2022 Diogo Silva Escola Superior de Música e Artes do Espetáculo (Portugal)
2023 Harper Byrne Indiana University
2024 Jason Donnelly no school affiliation