Bio

Kent Eshelman is Professor of Music at Baylor University and Principal Tuba of the Waco Symphony Orchestra. He has performed as substitute or extra tubist with the orchestras of Grand Rapids, San Antonio, and Toledo, and is a founding member of the chamber ensembles Brass Mammoth and QuinTuba. He gained recognition as the first-place winner of numerous competitions including the Jeju (South Korea) and Leonard Falcone (USA) international solo competitions, the Midland-Odessa Symphony national young artist competition, and the Rich Matteson international jazz euphonium/tuba competition. His performance as a finalist in the Philip Jones International Competition (France) prompted composer Anthony Plog to compose Nocturne for Tuba and Strings for him, which he premiered with the Ventoscala Symphony in Budapest (Hungary). Active as a soloist, guest artist, and adjudicator, he has appeared as guest artist at the Falcone Festival, recitalist at many conferences and universities, adjudicator at the Jeju International Brass Competition, chair of the Rich Matteson jazz competition, and soloist with many ensembles including the U.S. Army Blues. He has had the honor of premiering solo works by Bruce Broughton, John Cheetham, Frank Lynn Payne, and Anthony Plog, and his own compositions for euphonium-tuba quartet are published by Cimarron Music Press. His debut solo album, Flavors (Equilibrium, 2013), received the Roger Bobo Award for Excellence in Recording from the International Tuba-Euphonium Association, and the American Record Guide stated, “Tuba players are making fine recordings these days, but this one really stands out.” His other albums include Firm Foundation with QuinTuba (Summit, 2024); Message in a Tuba (Soundset, 2020); Four American Stories with Baylor Brass (Soundset, 2015); a jazz album, Life is Good (PKO Records, 2004); and a boogie-woogie and stride piano album, In the Pocket (2002).

Eshelman earned a D.M.A. from Michigan State University, where he studied with Phil Sinder and held the University Distinguished Fellowship, an M.M. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studied with John Stevens and held the Prize University Fellowship, and a B.M. and B.F.A. from the University of Michigan, where he studied tuba with Fritz Kaenzig and jazz piano with Ellen Rowe. He has taught previously at Grand Valley State University, Northern Arizona University, and Western Kentucky University, and he is a recipient of the Outstanding Professor Award from Baylor University. His students have excelled in competitions, grad school auditions, and job placement.

Kent Eshelman is a Denis Wick Artist and a Yamaha Performing Artist