Drew Leslie

Biography

Dr. Drew Leslie, a native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, joined the faculty of Colorado State University School of Music, Theatre, and Dance in Fall 2019 and currently serves as associate professor of trombone and Undergraduate Coordinator. Prior to CSU, Dr. Leslie was associate professor of trombone at the Hayes School of Music at Appalachian State University.

Active as a solo, chamber, and orchestral musician, Dr. Leslie has performance experience in a wide variety of settings. He has played with the symphony orchestras of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, Greeley, Cheyenne (Wyoming), Hawai'i, Charlotte (North Carolina), Kansas City (Missouri), Eugene (Oregon), Winston-Salem (North Carolina), Greensboro (North Carolina), Austin (Texas), Toledo (Ohio), Kalamazoo (Michigan), and Lansing (Michigan), as well as the Santo Domingo Festival Orchestra of the Dominican Republic and the Aspen Music Festival Orchestra and Chamber Symphony. He has also performed at the Jungfrau Music Festival (Switzerland), the Mid-Europe Festival (Austria), the Wiltz Open-Air Festival (Luxembourg), the Festival Veranos de la Villa (Spain), and has been featured in performances at the International Trombone Festival, the American Trombone Workshop, the Big XII Trombone Conference, and the International Association of Jazz Educators Conference. He played a Midwest tour with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble and has accompanied a wide variety of other artists including Wu Tang Clan, Nas, Ben Folds, Portugal. The Man, the Wailers, Tower of Power, Ray Charles, Bernadette Peters, Jake Shimabukuru and Michael Feinstein. Dr. Leslie has given numerous solo recitals at universities and festivals throughout the country and has been a featured soloist with the CSU Symphony Orchestra, CSU Wind Symphony, CSU Symphony Band, Appalachian Symphony Orchestra, Appalachian Wind Ensemble, the MU University Band, the University of Texas Wind Symphony, the Longhorn Summer Band, and the Ann Arbor Concert Band. He is currently a member of the Blue Ridge Trombone Quartet and maintains an active performance schedule across the country.

Equally as passionate about music education, Leslie has maintained active private studios in Colorado, Michigan, Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina and has served on the faculty of the CSU Brass Workshop, Tromboot Camp, Cannon Music Camp and the Longhorn Summer Music Camp. In addition, he worked as a teaching assistant at the University of Texas at Austin and was the visiting assistant professor of trombone at the University of Missouri for two years.

Dr. Leslie received his Doctor of Musical Arts in Trombone Performance from the University of Texas at Austin, his M.M. from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City, and his B.M. from the University of Michigan. Additionally, he spent four summers studying and performing at the Aspen Music Festival and School, including two as a fellowship student. His primary instructors include Nathaniel Brickens, Per Brevig, Michael Powell, David Jackson, H. Dennis Smith, and Jonathan Holtfreter. He is a member of the International Trombone Association, the College Music Society, and the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity.

Drew Leslie is a Conn-Selmer Artist-Clinician and performs on Vincent Bach trombones.

Check out Dr. Leslie's YouTube channel for performance videos: youtube.com