03/27/2026
INTRODUCING OUR 2026 LAKESIDE JUDGES: Tom Brantley!
Tom Brantley has served on USF’s Music Faculty since 1999 as Professor of Trombone, where he emphasizes both Classical and Jazz Trombone in his applied lessons. Brantley also leads the USF Jazz Ensemble I, Trombone Octet, Trombone Choir, and Bone Band I and II.
From 1995 to the present, Brantley toured, performed, and recorded with Rhythm and Brass, an internationally regarded chamber ensemble. As a soloist and with Rhythm and Brass, he has performed all over the world, including extensive tours of Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia. With Rhythm and Brass, he recorded three CDs and published a chamber music book for Universal Publications entitled Team Play. Brantley’s solo recordings include Boneyard on the Summit Record Label. He has two additional recordings – collaborating with colleagues in small groups to create the CDs Confluences and Obsessed with Treasure.
Brantley was nominated for a Grammy in 2018 as a member of Chuck Owen’s Jazz Surge on the recording Whispers on the Wind. His other recordings include projects with USF colleague Jack Wilkins and three other recordings for Chuck Owen’s Jazz Surge. While a graduate student, Tom performed and recorded with the Grammy-nominated One O’Clock Lab Band, playing lead trombone and jazz trombone. He appears on four recordings with the UNT Jazz Program: Lab 94, Lab 95, Live from Portugal, and A Tribute to Gene. Brantley also served as an adjunct trombone instructor at UNT after finishing his Master’s degree in Music.
Most recently, Tom Brantley created an etude book entitled Stylistic Etudes for Trombone, which has been published by Carl Fischer, Inc. (NYC). He made recordings of each etude, to assist students who work on them. His first etude collection for Carl Fischer, Essential Etudes for Trombone, was published in 2015 and was also warmly received by trombone teachers and students.
Excited to have you, Tom!
