Denson Paul Pollard, Trombone

Denson Paul Pollard began as bass/tenor trombonist/bass trumpet player with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in September, 2007. Pollard was the bass trombonist of the Hong Kong Philharmonic from 2001-2007. He has also been bass trombonist of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the Cedar Rapids Symphony, the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, the Des Moines Metro Opera Orchestra, and the Principal Trombonist of the Waterloo/Cedar Falls Symphony Orchestra. Pollard has performed with the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Houston Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. His teachers have included Dr. Jim Roberts, Dr. David Gier, George Krem, Charles Vernon and Joeseph Alessi.

Pollard was awarded the Master of Musical Arts degree and the Doctorate of Musical Arts in performance and pedagogy from the University of Iowa, where he served as a teaching assistant in the areas of musicology, jazz and applied trombone. Pollard also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in music education from Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Alabama. Pollard is a member of the brass faculty at the Juilliard School, Mannes School of Music, and Bard College. He is a faculty member of the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan during the summer.

As a commercial musician, Pollard has played with numerous shows. He was the tuba/bass trombonist with tours of the revival of Showboat and the Off-Broadway touring production of Annie. He played bass trombone for an 18-month tour with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Music of the Night and the Barry Manilow Concert Tour. Pollard can also be heard on numerous television commercials and movie soundtracks.

Pollard is a passionate champion of the bass trombone as a solo instrument. He has performed concertos and played solo recitals in various places around the world. He has recorded three solo CDs entitled “Up From Below,” “Point in Time” and “Listening.” He can also be heard on three Met Opera Brass recordings and a recent collaboration CD with James Markey, bass trombonist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, entitled “The Bass Trombonist’s Guide to Orchestral Excerpts.” All of Pollard’s recordings are available at www.cdbaby.com/dppollard and www.hickeys.com .

Dr. Pollard is a Buffet Group artist and performs exclusively on Courtois trombones.