Trombone
Born in Platteville, Wisconsin in 1974, Nathan Tanouye began studying music in elementary school, first with piano lessons and later on trombone. At age 11 he moved to Hawaii, where he attended high school and began his college education. While at the University of Hawaii, Manoa, Mr. Tanouye studied trombone with members of the Honolulu Symphony, including Jim Decker and Mike Becker. After receiving a performance scholarship to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1995, Mr. Tanouye moved to Las Vegas and completed his BM in both applied trombone and jazz studies. As a freelance trombonist, he has performed with artists such as Natalie Cole, Johnny Mathis, Tony Bennett, The Temptations, Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Andrea Bocelli, Donny & Marie Osmond, Bette Midler, and Aretha Franklin. In addition, Mr. Tanouye has been the principal trombonist in the Las Vegas Philharmonic since 1998 and has performed on the Las Vegas Strip in shows such as At the Copa, Storm, Hairspray, and The Producers. Since 2005, Mr. Tanouye has performed and recorded with Las Vegas’ premier horn band, Santa Fe & The Fat City Horns, a 14-piece band for which he also writes and arranges.
As a composer, he has written works for many different sizes of ensembles, ranging from jazz trio to concert band. In February of 2004, the UNLV Wind Orchestra premiered Three Steps Forward, a piece written by Mr. Tanouye to feature Eric Marienthal, Will Kennedy, Jimmy Haslip, and Russell Ferrante, later recorded and released on the Klavier label. Since that time, Mr. Tanouye has written three more wind ensemble pieces, two of which were also commissioned by UNLV; Kokopelli’s Dance (2005) and Four Flew Over the Hornet’s Nest (2006).
Mr. Tanouye has also done extensive work as an arranger and orchestrator, including arrangements for a diverse range of ensembles, including 18-piece jazz ensembles and flute and harp duo. One of his biggest arranging credits, “Crossings – The Russ Freeman Project” (Peacock 2006), a collaborative work with Carolyn Freeman featuring the music of pianist Russ Freeman, received rave reviews from the jazz community and helped launch The Las Vegas Jazz Connection, the roaring 26-piece jazz orchestra lead by Mr. Tanouye. Since 2005, Mr. Tanouye has lead the orchestra in numerous concerts featuring his arrangements and compositions. In 2008, he and the ensemble released their second CD for Peacock entitled “Remembering Russ”, which again features Mr. Tanouye’s arrangements of the great Russ Freeman’s music. The LVJC will soon be releasing their 3rd CD, “Eleven Colors”, which will feature more original compositions by Mr. Tanouye as well as his 2010 arrangement of Gershwin’s Rhapsody In Blue.
Currently, Mr. Tanouye performs with and arranges and orchestrates music for Celine Dion.
Hi! I’m Tyler Vahldick, and I’m originally from Branson, Missouri. After national searches and fully blind auditions, I was appointed trombonist with Las Vegas Philharmonic in 2016. I was also appointed principal trombone with the Austin Symphony Orchestra in August 2021 as well as Austin Opera and Central Texas Philharmonic in 2022, and 2nd/bass trombone with The Municipal Opera Theater St Louis (The Muny) in 2017 and recently became a sub for Dallas and Houston symphonies.
In the past, I’ve performed principal trombone with Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, American Ballet Theatre, Bahrain Symphony, Czech National Symphony, London Sinfonietta, Detroit Opera, Reno Philharmonic, Spoleto Festival USA, Verbier Festival Orchestra, Wichita Symphony, Fountain City Brass Band, and I’ve performed with Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Des Moines Metro Opera and other various regional orchestras, chamber ensembles, and opera/ballet companies. I’ve also performed concertos with the University of Central Missouri Wind Ensemble, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Wind Ensemble, the European Youth Music Orchestra in Frankfurt Germany, Regent Brass Band and Milton Keynes Brass Band in London and my hometown orchestra, the Springfield Symphony in Missouri.
When I’m not performing with orchestras, I frequently perform national tours for Broadway in Austin, and I’ve performed with artists such as Frank Sinatra Jr., Sting, Queens of the Stoneage, The Who, rappers Nas and Yandel, Hugh Jackman, Jane Lynch, Andrew Bird, and Weird “Al” Yankovic while on tour, and I’ve recorded albums and TV specials with Stephen Barber, Kansas City Symphony, Austin City Limits, Andrea Bocelli, Royal Academy of Music Brass Soloists Verbier Festival Orchestra. I’m the only American trombonist to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in performance from the Royal Academy of Music, and I earned my Master’s Degree in Orchestral Performance from the Manhattan School of Music.
Jeff Stupin is a versatile trombonist and bass trombonist based in Southern California. What started as a reluctant switch from oboe (thanks to being tall for his age) in elementary school turned into a lifelong passion.
He honed his craft at Fullerton College (#1 jazz band, two albums), a brief stint at Cal State Long Beach with LA Phil bass trombonist Jeff Reynolds, and then USC, where he earned both BA and MA in trombone performance under Terry Cravens. At USC he performed with the orchestra, wind ensemble, opera, and jazz ensembles.
As a freelancer, Jeff has shared the stage with legends including Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo, Andrea Bocelli, Bernadette Peters, Laura Benanti, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Judy Collins, and Tommy Tune. Since 2007 he has held the bass trombone chair with the Las Vegas Philharmonic.
Jeff lives in Southern California with his wife of 23+ years and their two children.