Ian Bousfield

The English trombonist Ian Bousfield is one of the most influential brass players of our time. In his 30-year orchestral career he was principal trombone of the London Symphony Orchestra and, from 2000 to 2012, principal trombone of the Vienna Philharmonic. Since then, he has primarily worked as a soloist, conductor and teacher.

As a soloist, he has worked with conductors such as Neville Marriner, Riccardo Muti, Kent Nagano and Michael Tilson Thomas and has performed with renowned orchestras such as the Vienna Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. He has participated in numerous recordings for EMI, Chandos and Camerata and has made several solo albums. The composer Jonathan Dove wrote the trombone concerto Stargazer for him.

Recently, he has also made a name for himself as a conductor. He has worked with the Oslo Philharmonic, the Orquestra Simfònica del Gran Teatre del Liceu, the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Danish Orchestra, the Danish Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bern Symphony Orchestra, the Norrlandsoperan Symphony Orchestra and the New World Symphony, and is considered one of the world’s leading conductors of wind orchestras.

Ian Bousfield studied at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and while still a student was appointed principal trombone of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester. He is professor of trombone at the University of the Arts in Bern and at the Royal Academy of Music in London. His former students perform in the world’s leading orchestras and have won the most prestigious competitions, including the ARD International Music Competition and the Royal Over-Seas League Award. He is also a wind coach with the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester and works regularly with the American orchestral academy New World Symphony in Miami. In 2019, at the invitation of Valery Gergiev, he chaired the first Tchaikovsky Competition for Brass Instruments.

In 2013 he was honoured with the ITA Award from the International Trombone Association.