Timothy Higgins

Timothy Higgins was appointed to the position of Principal Trombone of the San Francisco Symphony by Michael Tilson Thomas in 2008. He was previously the acting Second Trombonist with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, DC.  Mr. Higgins, a Houston native, has a Bachelor’s degree in Music Performance from Northwestern University and has performed with the Milwaukee Symphony, Virginia Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Music of the Baroque, Grand Teton Music Festival, Sun Valley Summer Symphony, Washington National Opera, and Baltimore Symphony.  His principal teachers have been Michael Mulcahy (Chicago Symphony), Michael Warny (Houston Grand Opera), and Royce Landon (Des Moines, Iowa).  He has participated in music festivals with the Roundtop Music Festival, the National Repertory Orchestra, and the Tanglewood Music Center.

Along with a busy orchestra career, Timothy Higgins is a sought after arranger of music.  He was the sole arranger of the National Brass Ensemble’s Gabrieli recording. Additionally, he has arranged music for CT3 Trombone Quartet, National Brass Quintet, Bay Brass, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Brass Ensemble.  Timothy Higgins has also composed works for brass instruments in solo and chamber settings. His arrangements and compositions have been performed by the Washington Symphonic Brass, the Bay Brass, the San Francisco Symphony brass section, the Chicago Symphony brass section, the Los Angeles Philharmonic brass section, and numerous university brass ensembles . His arrangements and original compositions are available through his publishing company, 415Music.

As a teacher, Mr. Higgins been a faculty member of the Pokorny Seminar since 2012, and is currently on faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Northwestern University. He has also led masterclasses in Japan, China, Canada and the United States, including classes at the Royal Conservatory in Toronto, the New World Symphony, and The Juilliard School of Music.

In 2005, Timothy Higgins won the Robert Marstellar Solo trombone competition, as well as the ITA Trombone Quartet competition with CT3.  While attending the Tanglewood Music Center, he was awarded the Grace B. Upton Award for Outstanding Fellow. In 2013, hereleased his solo CD, Stage Left, which can be found here.