Capital Region Summer Trombone Institute
Welcome to the Capital Region Summer Trombone Institute
Monday-Thursday, June 30-July 3, 2025
9 a.m.-4 p.m.
A four-day intensive seminar held at the Schenectady County Community College School
of Music, for middle school and high school students ages 11-18, dedicated to the
study of the trombone, with an emphasis on performance and pedagogy. Led by and featuring
premiere freelance musicians and educators in the area, the Capital Region Summer
Trombone Institute will provide students with an educational laboratory to learn,
play, and listen. All low brass instruments are welcome!
2025 Schedule
Subject to Change
Monday - Welcome and Faculty Showcase
Welcome Meeting
Group Warm Up
Trombone Choir Rehearsal
Split Masterclass (Split into Beginner and Intermediate/Advanced)
Lunch
Chamber Music Rehearsal/Coaching
Open Masterclass
Faculty Quartet Recital
Tuesday - Guest Artist Day Featuring Professor Mark Kellogg
Mark Kellogg Group Warm Up
Trombone Choir Rehearsal/Coaching
Jazz Improvisation Masterclass
Lunch
Chamber Music Rehearsal and Coaching
Mark Kellogg Masterclass
Wednesday - John Keal Music
Group Warm Up
Trombone Choir
Open Masterclass
Lunch
Chamber Music Rehearsals
John Keal Music Presentation
- Led by Declan Lynch, JKM Store Manager
- Discussing and Demonstrating the Music Business Industry
- Showcasing horns in inventory
Thursday
Group Warm Up
Trombone Choir and Chamber Group Dress Rehearsal
Split Masterclass
Lunch
Open Masterclass
Wrap Up Meeting/Q&A
Final Concert
How to Sign Up and Cost
Register for the Summer Trombone Institute
Cost: $250 per student
Individual lessons are available starting at 4 p.m. for an additional fee of $30 for
30-minutes or $60 for 60-minutes.
Registration deadline: June 15
If you have any questions, please contact swhimpl3@gmail.com or ppandori@niskyschools.org.
Faculty
Phil Brink
Born 1945 in Evanston, Illinois. Lived in the Chicago area through Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Northwestern University. Joined the Peace Corps in 1967 and worked as a music teacher in Chile until 1969. Returning to Chicago, I worked in computers for several years and freelanced on trombone. Started doctoral work at U. of Illinois until 1973, taking a year [1970-71] to work at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. In 1973 moved to Calgary, Canada to teach at University of Calgary and took a job as Principal Trombone in the Calgary Philharmonic.
Moved to Seattle in 1978 and again started a doctorate at the Juilliard School. There followed much freelance work with Seattle Symphony and Pacific Northwest Wagner Festival [Der Ring Des Nibelungen]. In 1986 won a job with New Mexico Symphony and added the Southwest Brass Quintet the next year. In 1988 I was invited to Hong Kong to fill a position on Bass Trombone with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. I returned to the U.S. after 12 years in the Philharmonic, also teaching at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.
From 2000 to 2007 taught privately and played freelance including a concert with the Chicago Symphony. Taught at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois 2006-2007. I was invited to accept the job teaching trombone at Mahidol University, from which I retired in 2017. During that same period I was hired as Bass Trombone and Low Brass Principal with the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra.
Returning to the U.S. in 2017, moved to upstate New York to be with daughter Jennifer, Executive Director of the Glens Falls Symphony Orchestra. Now freelancing in upstate New York.
Phil Pandori
Phil Pandori is Adjunct Instructor of Low Brass (Trombone, Euphonium, and Tuba) at SUNY Schenectady County Community College where he has also previously taught Brass Techniques and currently codirects and operates the Capital Region Summer Trombone Institute. Phil has previously taught Brass Techniques at the Hartt School of Music, as well as Wind Ensemble and Low Brass Lessons at Skidmore College, and is currently an Affiliate Artist in Residence at Union College in Schenectady.
In addition to his work at SUNY Schenectady, Phil is a band director in the Niskayuna Central School District where he directs the High School Concert Band, Honors Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Band, as well as Middle and High School brass and percussion lessons. Previously, Phil has taught 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th Grade Band in the District and maintains a low brass studio. Phil has directed All-County Bands across New York State, including Saratoga-Warren, Washington, Schoharie, Franklin, Onondaga, and Jefferson-Lewis Counties.
Phil currently holds the Principal Trombone seat in the Schenectady-Saratoga Symphony Orchestra and Capital Region Wind Ensemble and works frequently as a freelance musician in the Capital Region. Phil spends most of his performance time with the New York Players Entertainment Group as the full-time trombone player for Upstate New York's premier party band. Phil has performed with Johnny Mathis, Tony DeSare, Wynton Marsalis, The Orchestra of Northern New York, Northern Symphonic Winds, Glens Falls Symphony, Saratoga Voices, Octavo Singers, Battenkill Chorale, Albany Pro Musica, Brass Abbey Brass Quintet and more.
Phil, along with his wife Catherine, owns and operates Bristol Hills Music Camp (est. 1962) - a week-long quality-intensive outdoor music camp for Band, String and Orchestra students grades 7-12 – located on Bristol Mountain just outside of Canandaigua, New York.
Phil has previously served as the New York State School Music Association Representative for Zone 7 as well as a member of the New York State Band Directors Association Executive Board as Middle School Honor Band Chair and Committee Member at Large, and currently serves as Co-Chair to the Zone 7 Area All-State Symphonic Band.
Phil earned his undergraduate degree in Music Education from the Crane School of Music, where he also minored in Jazz Studies and earned a certificate in Trombone Performance under Mark Hartman and Bret Zvacek. Phil earned his Masters’ Degree in Trombone Performance from the Hartt School of Music under Ronald Borror.
Phil Pandori is a Conn Selmer Regional Artist and plays exclusively on Bach and King trombones.
Chris Paul
Christopher Paul is an active freelance trombonist and educator, based out of Albany, NY. Mr. Paul has appeared with a variety of ensembles including the Albany Symphony, Glens Falls Symphony, The Orchestra Now, Albany Pro Musica, and Park Playhouse Productions. He has also appeared as a soloist with the McGill Contemporary Mysic Ensemble, and at the Banff Centre’s Contemporary Opera program. Mr. Paul is also the trombonist and backup vocalist of the pop punk band Millington, touring extensively with them throughout the United States and Canada, and can be heard on their latest EP “Welcome Home”. Mr. Paul received his Bachelors Degree and Graduate Diploma in Performance from the Schulich School of Music at McGill University. His principal teachers are James Box, Pierre Beaudry (Montreal Symphony Orchestra) and Ron Barron (Boston Symphony Orchestra).
Dr. Stephen Whimple
Dr. Stephen Whimple, hailing from Clifton Park, New York, is a freelance musician and educator based in the Hudson Valley. From 2022 to 2024, he performed with the Orchestra Now as an orchestral fellow. Dr. Whimple served as an Instructor and Graduate Teaching Assistant at The University of Alabama. Prior to his doctoral studies, Stephen attended the Juilliard School as an Irene Diamond Graduate Fellow, Music Advancement Program Teaching Fellow, and Morse Teaching Artist Fellow. He completed his bachelor’s degree at The Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam. His primary teachers include Dr. Jonathan Whitaker, Dr. Jeremy Crawford, Joseph Alessi, and Dr. Mark Hartman.
Dr. Whimple’s students have placed in all-state ensembles and youth orchestras across the country. Others have gone on to attend the Juilliard Music Advancement Program and Pre-College, the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam and the University of Alabama. Students that reside in New York State have had continued success with NYSSMA scores. His studio currently consists of a wide range of experience levels and ages.
Mark Kellogg (Artist-in-Residence)
Mark Kellogg has embraced a wide range of musical roles throughout his career as a performer, teacher and administrator. Whether it’s taken the form of appearing as a concerto soloist, playing in a wide variety of chamber ensembles, performing as an orchestral musician or as a jazz player, teaching students of all ages or overseeing artistic programs or festivals, he has been most fortunate to explore a rich array of musical opportunities. In addition to holding the position of Professor of Trombone at the Eastman School of Music, Mr. Kellogg is chair of the Winds, Brass and Percussion Department and an affiliate faculty member in the school’s departments of Jazz and Contemporary Media and Music Teaching and Learning. Co-Director of the Eastman Trombone Choir and Director of the Eastman Brass Guild, he also leads the school’s faculty mentoring program in his position as Director of Faculty Development.
An Eastman faculty member since 1991, Mr. Kellogg’s past duties have included teaching euphonium, leading the school’s audience development program Eastman To Go, chairing Eastman’s chamber music department and initiating a course under the auspices of Eastman’s Arts Leadership Program called “Parallels Between Acting and Musical Performance”. This course was inspired by the work of his son, Rob Kellogg, a professional actor in New York City.
Mr. Kellogg performed for twenty-eight years as a member of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. He occupied the Austin Hildebrandt Principal Trombone position and appeared as soloist with the RPO on many occasions, performing the concerti of Tomasi, Albrechtsberger, Larsson, Shilkret and Jeff Tyzik (commissioned by the RPO in celebration of the orchestra’s 80th anniversary), works by Elliott Carter and Fred Sturm and numerous jazz and euphonium solos on the orchestra’s Pops series. Prior to his appointment in the Rochester Philharmonic, Mr. Kellogg performed as a member of the San Francisco Symphony and the National Repertory Orchestra. In recent seasons, he has also played with the Oregon Symphony, the Florida Orchestra, the Charleston Symphony, the Naples Philharmonic and Symphoria.
Mr. Kellogg has been a frequent guest with the Eastman Wind Ensemble, appearing as soloist in the Eastman Theatre and on tours to Japan and Carnegie Hall with Donald Hunsberger and Mark Davis Scatterday. He has also performed as a soloist with the Hartford Symphony, the US Army Orchestra, the University of Rochester Symphony, the Youngstown Symphony, the Penfield Symphony, the Hamilton New Music Ensemble, Brazil’s Orquestra Sinfonica do Theatro da Paz, and Argentina’s Camerata Eleuthera Chamber Orchestra.
Active as a jazz and chamber musician, Mr. Kellogg was a founding member of the brass and percussion ensemble Rhythm & Brass, touring the United States and Japan and making four recordings during his two years in the group. He has also performed with Clark Terry, Chris Vadala, Wynton Marsalis, Eddie Daniels, and Mel Tormé. Jazz and commercial recordings include collaborations with Jeff Tyzik, Gene Bertoncini, Allen Vizzutti, Steve Gadd, Gap Mangione and as a member of the Dave Rivello Ensemble. His jazz recording with Eastman School faculty colleague pianist Tony Caramia, Upstate Standards, celebrates the music of upstate New York composers Harold Arlen, Alec Wilder, and Jimmy Van Heusen. Mr. Kellogg’s most recent CD, Impressions, is a collection of French music for trombone and piano, featuring pianists Joseph Werner and Christopher Azzara. Since 2016, he has performed extensively with pianist Priscilla Yuen across the United States and South America.
A Conn Trombone performing artist, Mr. Kellogg has made appearances at numerous festivals and low brass symposia including the International Trombone Festival, the American Trombone Workshop, the Falcone International Euphonium and Tuba Festival, the Northeast Regional Tuba-Euphonium Conference, the Asian Pacific Music Educators Conference, the New York Brass Conference, the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra’s International Youth Orchestra Institute, the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival and the New World Symphony as well as at trombone festivals and master classes in Panama, Costa Rica, Argentina, Brazil and Germany.
In 2006, Mr. Kellogg founded Eastman’s annual Summer Trombone Institute, a week-long workshop for high school, college, young professional and adult amateur trombonists. In June 2014, he served as co-host of the International Trombone Festival, held at the Eastman School.
Mark Kellogg and his wife, Meghan, a professional pianist, organist, singer and choral director, live in Brighton with their four cats.