Delaware Trombone Day

School of Music

People seated playing trombones on stage in green shirts

First State Middle School Trombone Players on Stage with Teacher

2025 Delaware Trombone Day

April 5, 2025 from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m

ABOUT DELAWARE TROMBONE DAY

The annual Delaware Trombone Day, begun in 2011, is a celebration of all aspects of the trombone for performers of all ages. The event includes playing sessions in trombone choirs, educational classes with master teachers, and an array of concerts featuring some of the finest professional artists in the world!

WHO CAN ATTEND?

For participants in high school, college, and adults, the Festival Trombone Choir will offer an opportunity to participate in a Warm-Up Session, prepare and perform music for Trombone Choir and be lead by a guest conductor.

For middle school age students and younger, activities geared specifically for middle school trombonists will be offered alongside of those for more experienced players. Master classes may be presented by our featured guest artist, UD trombone students, or seasoned teachers from the region. The Junior Trombone Choir track also includes music arranged especially for this event. Students registered in advance will be emailed PDFs of their parts, so that they can arrive prepared. The ensemble also will have UD trombone students studying music education sitting side-by-side to the middle school students, giving them confidence and some playing tips along the way.

The day culminates with a final concert in which all of the trombonists combine to form a GIANT trombone choir with players of all ages.

This is truly an experience you will find both educational and fun!

REGISTRATION FEE and T-SHIRTS

Registration cost for Individual Participants is $40. Groups of 3 or more can register together for a discounted rate of $30 per participant. This fee includes a Trombone Day T-Shirt which also serves as performance attire for the day. Extended sizes (XXL, XXXL) must be ordered in advance and an additional $5 fee is required.

MEALS

You will need to bring money or pack a lunch to bring with you. Several restaurants are within a 1 block walking distance to the event. Middle school students may meet their parents to go to lunch or go in a group with a UD trombone student chaperone.

DIRECTIONS / PARKING

Most activities during the day will take place in the David and Louise Roselle Center for the Arts. Google Maps can find this location by name. You can also click HERE to view a map. Unfortunately, there is no free parking on or around campus. The CFA Garage normally has a flat rate for parking for the day and this is your best option. The Passport Parking app is used for the garage, street parking near campus, and all around the City of Newark.

MEDICATIONS / EMERGENCIES

It is important that an emergency contact number is listed on the registration form and/or Minors Policy form. There is no medical professional on site and individuals will be responsible for carrying and administering any required medications on their own.

INSTRUMENT STORAGE

Designated areas will be specified for instruments and cases to be stored when not in use. These areas will be occupied or secured at all times, so instruments will be safe. Personal items such as wallets and purses should remain with you all day long.

DRESS POLICY

The in-person attire for the day will be jeans or black pants and the Trombone Day t-shirt which will be supplied to you. You can change into the t-shirt in a restroom or wear over additional clothing if you prefer. It is your admission into all of the day's events as well as your concert attire.

ACCOMPANYING PARENTS and CHAPERONES

Parents or Chaperones of participating students do not have to pay a registration fee unless they are also participating. You are welcome to attend all events as long as seating capacity is not reached via paying registrants or ticket holders.

MINORS POLICY at the UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE

Under the University of Delaware’s Protection of Minors Policy, all minors will need to complete a registration form which will be emailed to you after you register and will also be available on the day of the event. Minors accompanied by a teacher will be considered part of a group and their teacher is the designated chaperone. For individuals, you will be required to sign in/out at the registration desk when leaving campus for lunch and at the end of the day. Minors may ONLY leave campus with a designated UD Chaperone, or their accompanying Teacher, Parent, or Adult Designee who brings them to campus.

Delaware Trombone Day 2025 Schedule

University of Delaware - Roselle Center for the Arts

8:30 - Registration

9:00 - Welcome

9:15 - Festival Choir / Junior Choir - Group Warm-up and Rehearsal

10:45 - Breakout Sessions

11:30 - Performance by Guest Artist Jose Leonardo Leon

12:30 - Lunch (on your own or with a UD chaperone)

2:00 - Masterclass: Jose Leonardo Leon

3:30 - Festival Choir / Junior Choir - Rehearsal

4:20 - Rehearse Massed Choir and Final Concert Logistics

5:00 - Final Concert

Jose Leonardo Leon

An expert in the fields of crossover musical performance, and education, Dr. Jose Leonardo Leon is one of the leading Classical and Commercial music trombonists (i.e., 1st-call orchestral, chamber, and solo performer; 1st-call studio recording trombonist for Pop, Latin, and Jazz Orchestras). Furthermore, he is an award-winning record producer, a social arts entrepreneur, a keynote presenter, and a digital creative arts consultant. Dr. Leon is a polymath musician who regularly engages with leading professors in institutions of higher learning. Most recently, he was a keynote presenter at the University of Florida’s Center for Arts, Migration, and Entrepreneurship in 2020 and was a Headlining Artist-Clinician for the 2021 and 2023 International Trombone Festival. Dr. Leon holds the distinction being a 3 times Global Music Awards® Winner for Best Instrumental Album (Classical album) and Compositions; and the 2015 Latin GRAMMY® Award Winning album as the bass trombonist for the Mamblue Instrumental Album.

As one of most active and proficient trombonists possessing equal mastery on both bass and tenor trombones in Ibero-America and U.S.A., Dr. Leon has worked with reputable professional music organizations within the United States, North and South America, and Europe. Dr. Leon has also enjoyed touring and/or performing with acclaimed artists such as Andrea Bocelli, The Manhattan Transfer, José Valentino, Idina Menzel, Arturo Sandoval, Wycliffe Gordon, Bob Mintzer, Paquito D’ Rivera, Eddie Daniels, Tony Succar, Dr. Ed Calle, David Foster, Charles Calello Four Seasons’ Big Band, and the PBS national broadcast of Great Performances with the Raices Jazz Orchestra hosted by renowned artist Sheila E.

Dr. Jose Leonardo Leon holds a bachelor’s degree in music from Florida International University, a master’s in music from the University of Miami Frost School of Music, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Music Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Colorado Boulder College of Music. Currently, Jose Leonardo Leon is the Assistant Professor of Music Entrepreneurship, Trombone Studio, and Founder of the Arts Performance and Entrepreneurship Initiative for the College of Arts and Letters at Florida Atlantic University, a published author for Warwick Music, Dust & Ashes Publications, the International Trombone Association Journal, the International Journal for Music Entrepreneurship & Leadership, and the National Association for Music Education Research Blog, bass trombonist with the Symphony of the Americas and Miami’s own Raices Jazz Orchestra. Jose Leonardo Leon is a Bach Brass Performing Artist and Clinician at Conn-Selmer Inc. and a Hammond Design Mouthpieces Artist in Residence.

Dr. Jose Leonardo Leon – Guest Artist

Jose Leonardo Leon

Biography

Dr. Bruce Tychinski – Trombone Day Director
Biography

Bruce Tychinski

Dr. Bruce Tychinski is Professor of Trombone at the University of Delaware where he teaches applied lessons, directs the Trombone Choir and UD Slides jazz trombone ensemble and hosts an annual Trombone Day event. Dr. Tychinski is a member of the Washington Trombone Ensemble, the Nittany Trombone Quartet, Principal Trombonist of the Johnstown Symphony, and Second Trombonist of the Lancaster Symphony.

During his career, Dr. Tychinski has performed with orchestras, chamber groups, and jazz ensembles throughout the United States and also with many well-known popular artists including Rosemary Clooney, the Four Tops, Little Anthony and the Imperials, the Drifters, Leslie Gore, Lou Christie and Connie Francis. In recent years, he has appeared at the International Trombone Festival, the International Tuba and Euphonium Conference, International Horn Symposium, and the American Trombone Workshop. Dr. Tychinski spearheaded the Stamp Trombone Commission Consortium that resulted in the composition Divertimento for Trombone and Band by Jack Stamp which he premiered at the 2013 Eastern Trombone Workshop with the United States Army Band. Dr. Tychinski was named a 2016 Delaware Division of the Arts Fellow and released his first solo compact disc recording, Interplay: New Music for Trombone and Band on the Arts Laureate label in 2017.

Dr. Tychinski holds Bachelor and Master of Music in Trombone Performance degrees from Penn State University and the Doctor of Musical Arts in Trombone Performance degree from the University of Kansas. Prior to his appointment at the University of Delaware in 2010, Dr. Tychinski taught at the University of Southern Mississippi, St. Norbert College and the University of Northern Iowa. Bruce and his wife Heidi live in Landenberg, PA with their three children: Gretchen, Clara and Peter.

Dr. Bruce Tychinski – Trombone Day Director

Bruce Tychinski

Biography

Dr. Daniel Twentey – Festival Choir Conductor
Biography

Daniel Twentey

Dr. Twentey is the founder of Brass Academy LLC and the primary instructor for all low brass lessons. Low brass instruments include alto, tenor, and bass trombones, as well as euphonium/baritone, and tuba.

Dr Twentey has 15+ years of experience teaching music lessons, including students at levels from beginner to collegiate. In addition to private teaching, Daniel has experience teaching brass chamber music for 3 years at CU Boulder, while studying toward his Doctorate of Musical Arts in Brass Performance and Pedagogy (completed in 2020). Daniel also holds music performance degrees from Virginia Tech (B.A.) and Penn State (M.M.). Daniel has performed as a guest artist, presented masterclasses, and taught as Artist in Residency in colleges and universities across multiple US states and abroad, in Cuba. Dr. Twentey also served as Adjunct Trombone Instructor at Penn State University in Spring 2024.

As a performer, Daniel has experience performing in numerous professional orchestras, jazz big bands, opera/ballet orchestras, 2nd line, salsa band, and chamber groups (quintet, quartet, etc.). This includes the Colorado Symphony, Cheyenne Symphony, Fort Collins Symphony, Steamboat Springs Orchestra, Altoona Symphony, Williamsport Symphony, Longmont Symphony, and Boulder Ballet Orchestra, among others. You can hear Daniel perform live as a member of the Market Street Brass Quintet, as Principal Trombonist of the Loudoun Symphony Orchestra, and often in productions by the Manassas Opera Theater Orchestra.

Dr. Daniel Twentey – Festival Choir Conductor

Daniel Twentey

Biography

Directions

All events will occur in:

Puglisi Orchestra Hall (Puglisi) and Gore Recital Hall (Gore), located in the Roselle Center for the Arts (CFA)

The best GPS address to get to this area of campus: 101 Carroll Ct, Newark, DE 19711

PARKING: The CFA parking garage is nearby or street parking is available.

Please do not hesitate to ask for directions. UD Trombone Faculty and Students will be around and are glad to help guide you to your desired location!