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Tony Baker, tromone
Faculty Guest Artist Series

Considered one of the finest trombonists of his generation, Tony Baker is a faculty member at the University of North Texas College of Music. Previously, Mr. Baker served as assistant professor of trombone at Ohio University and as visiting assistant professor of trombone and euphonium at Kent State University. A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, he is an alumnus of the University of Minnesota and the University of Central Arkansas.

Mr. Baker's professional experience is as varied as it is substantial. As an orchestral musician, he has performed with ensembles such as the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, the Minnesota Opera Orchestra, the New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra, and the Columbus, Akron, Arkansas, and Duluth-Superior symphonies. Mr. Baker currently holds the second trombonist position of the Dallas Opera Orchestra. Mr. Baker is also a member of the Intergalactic Contemporary Ensemble (formerly the Minnesota Contemporary Ensemble); a Minneapolis/St. Paul-based group committed to the performance of modern works. Mr. Baker can be heard on the ensemble's latest release, I Dig, which features works by composers such as Leonard Bernstein, Les Baxter, and Henry Mancini.

As a soloist, Mr. Baker has established an international reputation. Mr. Baker was a soloist at the 2000 Grindavik Cultural Festival in Iceland, an event held in conjunction with the Reykjavik Cultural Festival. He was also a soloist at the 2000 Festival International D'Art Lyrique, held in Aix-en-Provence, France. This is an annual music festival hosted by the Academie Europeénne de Musique in conjunction with the Ensemble Intercontemporain. Mr. Baker was also one of eight invited participants at the 1994 Christian Lindberg Solo Workshop. Ensembles with which Mr. Baker has performed as a soloist include the Ohio Valley Symphony, the University of Minnesota Symphony Orchestra, the Ohio University Wind Ensemble, the University of Central Arkansas Wind Ensemble, the University of North Texas Trombone Choir, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Wind Symphony, the Ouachita Baptist University Wind Ensemble, and the University of Minnesota Trombone choir. Mr. Baker was also recently featured as a soloist with the United States Army Band at the 2004 Eastern Trombone Workshop in Washington D.C. Mr. Baker has given guest recitals and/or master classes at schools such as the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the University of Kentucky, the University of Washington, Murray State University, the University of Texas at San Antonio, the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Ohio State University, Ohio University, and the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music. He appeared as a clinician and performer at the 1998 University of Illinois Trombone Camp, the 1998 International Tuba/Euphonium Conference, and the 2003 International Tuba/Euphonium Regional Conference. In 2001, 2003 and 2004 Mr. Baker was a guest artist at the International Trombone Festivals held in Nashville, Tennessee and Helsinki, Finland and Ithaca, New York, respectively. In May 2002, Mr. Baker hosted the 2002 International Trombone Festival at the University of North Texas. This festival has been widely recognized as the largest and most successful in the history of this event. Upcoming guest artist engagements include recitals and master classes at Morehead State University and Humboldt State University.

Mr. Baker’s chamber music experience includes past memberships of professional ensembles such as the Kent Brass Quintet and OhioBrass, of which he was a founding member. Mr. Baker currently is a member of the University of North Texas Faculty Brass Quintet and the Appalachian Trombone Quartet. Mr. Baker performed with this ensemble on two tours of the midwestern United States and on a 2001 tour of the United Kingdom.

As a jazz musician Mr. Baker has performed with groups such as the Woody Herman Band and the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra. He has also performed on stage with artists such as Wynton Marsalis, Steve Turre, Terry Gibbs, Wycliffe Gordon, John Fedchock, Chris Vadala, and Jiggs Whigham. He currently holds the jazz trombone chair in the Dallas Jazz Orchestra and can be heard as a featured artist on the groups soon-to-be-released CD. As a jazz clinician, Mr. Baker is on the faculty of summer jazz workshops at the University of North Texas and Northwest College in Cody, Wyoming. Past jazz workshops at which Baker was a clinician include the 2000 to 2003 and 2005 University of North Texas Jazz Combo Clinics, the 2001 to 2003 and 2005 University of North Texas Jazz Trumpet and Trombone Workshops, the 2001 to 2004 Yellowstone Jazz Camps, and the 2002 Redbud Jazz Festival. Mr. Baker served as the All-State Conductor of the 2004-2005 Minnesota All-State Jazz Ensemble, an ensemble hailed at the 2005 Minnesota All-State Convention as one of the best in recent years. Mr. Baker has recorded with the Sounds of Blackness and can be heard with this group on their Grammy-nominated compact disc, Time for Healing. From October 1997 to April 2000 Baker was lead trombonist of the Columbus-based professional big band Jazz-to-Go. The recipient of many prizes and awards, Mr. Baker's honors include the ITA President’s Award and a First Place in Brass Performance in the 1991 Music Teachers National Association Wurlitzer Collegiate Artist National Competition. Currently Mr. Baker free lances regularly in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex.

When Mr. Baker is not teaching or performing, he enjoys spending time with his wife and four children.