Incentivized to pick the trombone by the promise of doughnuts from his middle school band director, Kenny Ross developed a passion for music, community, and collaboration shortly after. This passion has transpired into a diverse set of interests in the music world, creating an equally diverse set of goals. He is currently a Doctoral student in Music Performance at the University of North Texas, where he serves as a Graduate Teaching Fellow, teaching the brass methods classes. He received his master’s degree studying in Trombone Performance and Pedagogy at the University of Colorado Boulder and his bachelor’s degree in Performance at the University of Oregon, graduating cum laude.
As an educator, Kenny is currently a staff member at Parlando School for the Arts in CO where he teaches privately and works extensively in schools in the Denver-Boulder area. He is also a trombone teacher at Through the Staff, a non-profit organization that provides free music instruction to marginalized communities or to people who otherwise could not afford it. As part of the Through the Staff organization, he also serves as an Assistant Director of the Partnerships and Expansion committee, focusing on expanding into colleges and universities and applying for legal 501(c)3 status. He is the administrative assistant for the Becker Low Brass Boot Camp, the President of the Trombones of North Texas organization, and is a member of the Social Media team for the One O’Clock Lab Band. Additionally, he also maintains a private studio of students of all brass instruments and ages. As a lecturer, he has given classes through the Osher Life Learning Institute at UNT and the International Women’s Brass Conference. In his undergraduate career, he was the Music Director of the Green Garter Band, University of Oregon's premier athletic ensemble, which entailed extensive outreach at schools, and collaboration with UO's multi-million-dollar athletic department. He also served as a section leader for the University of Oregon Marching and Basketball Bands.
Kenny has performed with the One O’Clock Lab Band, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Steamboat Symphony, Arapahoe Philharmonic, Longmont Symphony, Orchestra NEXT, UNT Trombone Consortium, Oregon Jazz Ensemble, the UO Hip-Hop Ensemble, and the CU Symphony. He has performed nationally and internationally at various festivals including the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Montreux Jazz Festival, the Umbria Jazz Festival, the Vienne Jazz Festival, the International Women’s Brass Conference, the CBDNA regional conference, the Western International Band Conference, and the Reno Jazz Festival.
As a soloist, Kenny was the alternate winner of the 2017 and 2019 Petri Scholarship competition and winner of the Bass Trombone competition, as well as 3rd prize winner at the 2019 International Women's Brass Conference. In the summer of 2019, he was personally invited by Christian Lindberg's to his masterclass in Lübeck, Germany as a part of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival. He was also a Finalist at the Big 12 Trombone Conference Solo Competition, the runner up in the Innovatrombone Division 3A solo competition, and a semi-finalist in the Frances Walton solo competition.
Mr. Ross currently resides in Denton, TX. He is an avid outdoorsman, traveler, racket sports enthusiast, and Portland Trail Blazers fan - but most importantly - he is a proud fiancé, son, and dog dad. For more information, download the Electronic Press Kit below.