The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music is pleased to announce the appointment of trombonist Denson Paul Pollard as professor of music (trombone), effective Aug. 1, pending approval of the Trustees of Indiana University.
“We in the Brass Department—and the trombone area in particular—are very excited by the appointment of Dr. Denson Paul Pollard,” said Peter Ellefson, trombonist and chair of the Brass Department. “Paul brings vast top-level performance experience in opera, symphonic, solo and chamber music and has taught extensively worldwide. We welcome him and his family to Bloomington.”
“The Jacobs School of Music is a unique musical environment, respected and beloved.—a haven for creative people,” said Pollard. “I feel honored to be joining the faculty and continuing the legacy of guiding young artists into a life of music.”
Pollard began as bass/tenor trombonist/bass trumpet player with the New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in September 2007. He was bass trombonist with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra from 2014 to 2015 and the Hong Kong Philharmonic from 2001 to 2007. He has performed with the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Houston Symphony and Los Angeles Philharmonic. His teachers have included Jim Roberts, David Gier, George Krem, Charles Vernon and Joseph Alessi.
Pollard earned a Master of Musical Arts degree and a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in performance and pedagogy from the University of Iowa, where he served as a teaching assistant in musicology, jazz and applied trombone. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in music education from Jacksonville State University, Alabama. He is currently a member of the faculty at Mannes School of Music, Bard College, The Juilliard School and the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan.
A passionate champion of the bass trombone as a solo instrument, Pollard has performed concertos and played solo recitals throughout the world. He has recorded three solo CDs, “Up From Below,” “Point in Time” and “Listening.” He can also be heard on three MET Opera Brass recordings and a recent CD with James Markey, bass trombonist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, “The Bass Trombonist’s Guide to Orchestral Excerpts.”
Pollard’s recordings are available at CD Baby and Hickey’s Music Center. He is a Buffet Group artist, performing exclusively on Courtois trombones.