Considered one of the finest trombonists of his generation, Tony Baker is currently a faculty member at the University of North Texas College of Music. Previously, Mr. Baker served as an assistant professor of trombone at Ohio University and as visiting assistant professor of trombone and euphonium at Kent State University. A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, he is an alumnus of the University of Minnesota and the University of Central Arkansas.
Baker's professional experience lies in the orchestral, solo, and jazz areas. He has performed with the Minnesota Opera Orchestra, the New Hampshire Music Festival, and the Columbus, Akron, Arkansas, and Duluth-Superior symphonies. Currently a member of the Richardson Symphony Orchestra, he is also a member of the Intergalactic Contemporary Ensemble (formerly the Minnesota Contemporary Ensemble), a Minneapolis/St. Paul-based group committed to the performance of modern works. Mr. Baker can be heard on the ensemble's latest release, I Dig, which features works by composers such as Leonard Bernstein, Les Baxter, and Henry Mancini.
As a soloist Baker's experience is as varied as it is substantial. Baker was a soloist at the 2000 Grindavik Cultural Festival in Iceland, an event held in conjunction with the Reykjavik Cultural Festival. He was also a soloist at the 2000 Festival International D'Art Lyrique, held in Aix-en-Provence, France. This is an annual music festival hosted by the Academie Europeenne de Musique in conjunction with the Ensemble Intercontemporain. He has been a soloist with the Ohio Valley Symphony, the University of Minnesota Symphony Orchestra, the Ohio University Wind Ensemble, the University of Central Arkansas Wind Ensemble, the University of North Texas Trombone Choir, and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Wind Symphony.
Baker has performed guest recitals at the University of North Texas, the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the University of Kentucky, the University of Central Arkansas, and Murray State University. He has appeared as a clinician and performer at the 1998 University of Illinois Trombone Camp, and at the 1998 International Tuba/Euphonium Conference. In May 2001, Mr. Baker will be a guest artist at the 2001 International Trombone Festival in Nashville, Tennessee. In February 1996, Professor Baker was invited to perform Luciano Berio's Sequenza V at the 1996 Music of Luciano Berio Symposium at the University of North Texas. He was also one of eight invited participants at the 1994 Christian Lindberg Solo Workshop.
As a jazz musician Baker has performed with groups such as the Woody Herman Band and the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra. He has also performed on stage with Wynton Marsalis, Steve Turré, Terry Gibbs and Chris Vadala. As a jazz clinician he participated in the 2000 University of North Texas Jazz Combo Clinic and the 1999 Capital University Jazz Week. Professor Baker has recorded with the Sounds of Blackness and can be heard with this group on their Grammy-nominated compact disc, Time for Healing. From October 1997 to April 2000 Baker was lead trombonist of the Columbus-based professional big band Jazz-to-Go.
The recipient of many prizes and awards, Mr. Baker's honors include a First Place in Brass Performance in the 1991 Music Teachers National Association Wurlitzer Collegiate Artist National Competition.
