Brian Wendel

Biography

Brian Wendel joined The Cleveland Orchestra as Principal Trombone in August of 2022, appointed by Franz Welser-Möst. He previously served as Principal Trombone of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO) for five seasons, beginning in 2017. Enjoying the artistry of solo performances, he has appeared as a soloist with the Vancouver, Murcia and Prince George Symphonies, Real Filharmonía de Galicia, Denver University Brass Ensemble, and the Juilliard Trombone Choir, and will make his debut as a soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra in 2026. Mr. Wendel was the winner of numerous solo competitions, such as the Music International Grand Prix — Winds and Brass category (2021), Online Trombone Competition (2020), Alessi Seminar Asia Competition (2018) and two International Trombone Association competitions (2014 and 2016). He has also performed as an extra with the Seattle Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, and New York Philharmonic Brass Ensemble. He received his bachelor’s degree from The Juilliard School under the mentorship of Joseph Alessi.

Mr. Wendel is on faculty at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and is enthusiastic about working with and performing for students around the world. He has presented masterclasses at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa (Portugal), Hochschule Luzern (Switzerland), University of Colorado-Boulder, Long Siew Tow Conservatory (Singapore), Denver University, and University of British Columbia (UBC) School of Music, National Youth Orchestra (USA) among others. Mr. Wendel served as Adjunct Professor of Trombone at UBC from 2019-2022, and has also been an Associate Instructor for the Alessi Seminar Asia. Mr. Wendel’s debut solo album, This is Home, was released on June 18, 2021, and it features music representing his “musical home” through works by Scriabin, Bach, Crespo, Prokofiev, and himself.

Please feel free to visit his website, brianwendelmusic.com, for more details and sound bytes!

SPECIALTIES:
Orchestra repertoire
Fundamentals
College audition prep
Goal setting and practice structure
Alto trombone
Tenor trombone

LANGUAGES:
English