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

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, 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 

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 Co-Winner Mustafa Khalilov Conservatory Rayonnement Regional De Paris
2020 Co-Winner Timothy Maines Northwestern University
2020 Co-Winner Jamey Morgan 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