Southwest Trombone Conference

Missed our app deadline but still interested in joining us? Attend STC as an Auditor and you will be able to attend all masterclasses, lectures, and recitals. Plus, you’ll have the opportunity to play in the massed choir, as well!

Register by June 15 by visiting our site and filling out the form

🥳 After reviewing a RECORD SMASHING 99 applications, we have released our admissions decisions for 2026!

Thank you to all of you who applied. This year not only did we receive the most applications we’ve ever had but it was also the highest overall level we’ve heard.

We can’t wait to see all of you in July for the most magical STC yet!

Thank you to all of you who applied for STC 2026! We are overjoyed to see the record-smashing amount of applications we got this year and look forward to reviewing them within the next 2 weeks.

Stay tuned for results coming via email on or before April 15.

🚨 Today’s the dayyyy!! 🎶 Get those apps in for our Honors and Participant Classes, the Solo Competition (did someone say free trombone?!), and our intern positions.

STC 2026 is bound to be the best one yet with an incredible line up of guests, premieres, and friendship.

Come see what past students are calling “the best trombone seminar they’ve attended” this summer in ABQ.

We are thrilled to welcome this illustrious line up of Presenters to STC this summer.

Each of these fantastic artists and humans will present a 50-minute lecture class on topics ranging from mental health, choosing the best equipment for you, and how to best practice to achieve the results you want to see amongst others.

There’s still time to apply. Head over to swtrombones.com now before our April 1 deadline to be a part of the magic of STC

🚨 Our 2026 deadline for pur Honors and Participants classes, Solo Competition, and Interns is tomorrow.

Be sure to get those apps in by midnight on April 1 for your chance to come experience the magic of STC this summer. Limited scholarships are available

Come experience the magic of what past Participants are calling “The best trombone festival [they] have ever been to” this summer from July 7-11.

Auditions are due April 1 and that’s no joke! Get your apps in now to work with world-class faculty, learn from industry pros about so much more than just the trombone, and meet new friends from far and wide.

We can’t wait to see you this summer!

🌟 Last but certainly not least in our Faculty highlights for 2026 is co-founder Chris Buckholz.

Dr. B is a virtuoso crossover artist who has done it all. Formerly lead trombonist with the US Army Jazz Ambassadors, he now serves as Professor of Trombone at the University of New Mexico.

Chris Buckholz is a crossover trombonist specializing in both classical and jazz, and serves as Professor of Trombone at the University of New Mexico (since 2013), previously teaching at the University of Northern Iowa, where he won a university-wide Outstanding Teaching Award in 2010.

He has released three solo CDs, including *Versatility* (2015), and is the first trombonist to issue both classical and jazz solo albums. His scholarly work includes editions of early 20th-century trombone music and the revival of Frederick Innes’s *The Sea-Shells Waltz*. He performs with the Enchantment Brass Quintet and is an S.E. Shires Performing Artist.

In 2023, he co-founded the Southwest Trombone Conference with members of the St. Louis Symphony. Earlier, he was lead trombonist for the Army Jazz Ambassadors (1997–2005), performing with major orchestras and appearing on four recordings. He has also performed with numerous popular artists and on hundreds of studio sessions.

Buckholz is an active clinician and guest artist at major schools and festivals worldwide. He holds degrees from Wake Forest University, Yale University, and the University of Michigan, and studied with leading classical and jazz trombonists.

🚨 Our application deadline for ALL of our offering at STC is quickly approaching. Be sure to get your materials in by April 1 to be a part of the magic of STC this summer!