Trombonist · Educator · Collaborator
Based in Halifax, Nova Scotia
I am a trombonist and educator working primarily in contemporary music. My work spans performance, ensemble leadership, and undergraduate teaching, and is grounded in collaborative musical processes.
I am interested in situations where musical structure remains flexible and meaning is shaped through shared decision-making.
Alongside this work, I pursue exploratory projects that extend these ideas through instruction-based scores and attentive listening practices.
overview of Current Work
I live and work in Kjipuktuk (Halifax), in Mi’kma’ki, the unceded and ancestral territory of the Mi’kmaq people. I offer this acknowledgement as part of an ongoing commitment to learning and responsibility.
Contemporary Music Performance Practice
Performance work as a trombonist in contemporary chamber and large-ensemble settings, with a focus on works involving flexible notation and open interpretive forms.
University Teaching
Teaching and course development in undergraduate courses at Dalhousie University, including the refinement of course policies, detailed weekly lesson plans, and the design of assessments across multiple formats.
Alkali Collective
Trombonist and co-artistic director of a contemporary chamber ensemble focused on commissioning, collaboration, and performer-led practice.
Composer Commissioning & Collaboration
Preparation and performance of new chamber works in close collaboration with composers, including commissioned pieces and co-developed projects.
Rehearsal & Practice Strategies
Ongoing development of approaches to practicing and rehearsing, explored through individual practice, ensemble work, workshops, and classroom teaching.
Call for Scores Program
Co-development and coordination of an annual Call for Scores initiative supporting early-career composers through workshopping and performance, as part of Alkali Collective’s artistic leadership.
Text-ScoreS & Instruction-Based WorkS
An exploratory project focused on instruction-based scores emerging from everyday listening, waiting, and ephemeral performance contexts.
Workshops & Guest Teaching
Guest workshops and clinics in contemporary performance practice, improvisation, ensemble rehearsal, and trombone/low brass performance.
BIOGRAPHY
Biographical materials available in multiple formats and lengths, along with downloadable headshots for program and promotional use:
Photo credits: Maritime River Photography.
Full CV and teaching dossier available upon request.
Listening
Amy Brandon: Affine (2023).
For any group of 7+ instruments (c. 10′).
Commissioned and premiered by Alkali Collective.
Recording released on Lysis (2024).
Text Scores
Works situated in everyday spaces and moments of waiting.
checkout
2026, 2-10′
A site-responsive work designed for everyday waiting lines, using ambient sound and subtle performer responses to structure listening in real time. The piece unfolds according to the pace of the queue and ends when the performer reaches the register.
on hold
2026, 2-10′
A text score shaped by phone queues, automated messages, and suspended time. Performers respond to interruption, repetition, and delay, allowing the structure of the piece to emerge from mediated listening.
baggage claim
In Development
A developing instruction-based work situated in transit spaces. The piece explores arrival, accumulation, and ownership through the sounds, rhythms, and pauses of waiting for what has been carried and left behind.
