Professor of Trombone Thomas Ashworth Announces Retirement
Professor of Trombone Thomas Ashworth has announced his retirement from the School of Music. Ashworth has been a valued member of the faculty for over 33 years, after serving on the faculty at the Canberra (Australia) School of Music and the University of Kansas, and also as a member of the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra. He has served several generations of School of Music students and leaves a lasting legacy of alumni pursuing their careers.
“Prof. Ashworth’s contributions to the School of Music are immeasurable,” says Patrick Warfield, Director of the School of Music, “he has always been keenly aware of the School’s mission to serve aspiring performers, composers, educators, and therapists, balancing his studio with students who hold a wide range of interests. It’s going to be hard to imagine Ferguson Hall without him!”
Ashworth’s teaching career began as a freshman at Fresno State, when local trombone great Robert Bergstrom entrusted him with his fifteen weekly middle school and high school students. Following five years of undergraduate studies, freelance gigs, and private teaching in Fresno, Ashworth served as a Teaching Assistant at North Texas State for three years, working with up to fifteen weekly students. Ashworth played second and lead trombone in the North Texas State One O’Clock Jazz Lab Band from 1981-1983. The One O’Clock toured Europe in 1982, performing at the Montreux, North Sea, Pori, and Antibes jazz festivals.
During and following his graduate studies at North Texas State University (NTSU), Ashworth performed and recorded with the Lou Fischer Big Band and also performed with Them Bones. Both of these ensembles feature top Dallas-area studio musicians, with many being former members of the Stan Kenton, Woody Herman and Buddy Rich big bands. Following his Masters studies at NTSU, Ashworth founded Mom’s Jazz Band, a big band comprised of Dallas studio musicians and NTSU faculty members, students, and alumni. The band was later re-formed in Lawrence, Kansas, during Ashworth’s years on the KU faculty. He spent three years at the University of Kansas before joining the faculty at the University of Minnesota. Most recently, Ashworth has performed and recorded with his Twin Cities-based jazz combo, The Fireside Five.
Influential teachers throughout his student years included (in chronological order) Donald Wilkinson, Charles Schroeder, Lawrence Huck, Ritchie William Clendenin, Lawrence Sutherland, Wilbur Sudmeier, Leon Brown, Rich Matteson, Vern Kagarice, and John Kitzman. He continued his musical education during his teaching career through lessons with Michael Mulcahy, Joseph Alessi, Ralph Sauer, Gene Pokorny, and Michael Davis. Ashworth was honored to be invited to participate in week-long soloist masterclasses with Christian Lindberg in Germany and Finland.
Ashworth’s impact as an educator is vast. Many of his former students are now public school teachers preparing future generations of performers and educators. Others are enjoying careers as Music Therapists. Former students have also been, or are presently on the faculties of several universities and colleges across the United States. Many have enjoyed performing with orchestras throughout the US, Mexico, Australia, and Europe. Others are full-time or freelance performers and teachers in major metropolitan areas throughout the nation.
Former students have been, or are presently on the faculties of numerous universities including North Texas State, Nebraska, Illinois, Alabama, Minnesota, Kansas, Georgia State and Baylor. Other alumni have enjoyed performing with orchestras throughout the US and in Mexico, Australia and Europe. Numerous former students have been or are presently members of
Washington DC-based premiere US military ensembles including the US Army Blues, US Army Ceremonial Brass, US Navy Band, US Air Force Band and the US Air Force Airmen of Note. While most of his former students have pursued careers in music, others have found success in law, medicine, ministry, engineering, aviation and business-and Ashworth is equally proud of them all!
In addition to his distinguished career as an educator, Ashworth pursued several opportunities as a professional trombonist. He performed on hundreds of Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO) concerts on alto, tenor and bass trombone, and euphonium and has joined the SPCO on tours throughout the US and in Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore. He appears on SPCO recordings with conductors Hugh Wolff, Christopher Hogwood, Andreas Delfs, and Douglas Boyd. Ashworth has also performed with the Minnesota Orchestra with conductors Eiji Oue, Osmo Vanska, and Doc Serverinsen. Ashworth is especially proud of working with the SPCO and Swedish trombone virtuoso Christian Lindberg on arranging the commission and debut performances of Toru Takemitu’s Fantasma/Cantos II.
Ashworth has appeared as a soloist with university, high school, and community wind bands and jazz ensembles. Some of his most memorable solo concerts include his three solo performances with the United States Army Band-Pershing’s Own at the American Trombone Workshop in Washington DC and performing the world premiere of Dana Wilson’s Trombone Concerto with maestro Craig Kirchhoff and the UM Wind Ensemble.
His brass chamber music experience includes numerous freelance ensembles and the KU and UM faculty quintets. He has recorded CDs with Graham Ashton Brass Quintet and a brass sextet featured on UM Trumpet Professor Marissa Benedict’s CD Continental Shift. He has toured the US on trombone and euphonium with the Summit Brass and recorded several CDs with Symphonia, a professional tuba-euphonium ensemble. He also performed with the Chicago-based Music of the Baroque and the American Wind Symphony Orchestra.
Having spent far too much time away from family during his career, Ashworth now looks forward to working with Linda, his wife of forty-six years, to spoil their nine grandchildren while enjoying their new bucolic lifestyle in the rolling hills of western Wisconsin. They plan on regular RV trips through the US and Canada, overseas travel, a cruise or two, and lots of naps. He wants to thank Linda for her continual support and endless patience, as well as their children Carolyn, Lawrence, Emily, and Michael for following him around the world and attending countless concerts and summer festivals.
