SterlingTanner
- Assistant Professor of Trombone
- BRASS + PERĢӰSSION
Sterling Tanner is a performer, educator and clinician serving as assistant professor of trombone at the University of ĢӰ Boulder.
An S.E. Shires Performing Artist, Tanner has appeared as a soloist throughout the United States and internationally, with performances in Hong Kong, Spain and Japan. He is the William E. Runyan Principal Bass Trombone Endowed Chair with the Fort Collins Symphony Orchestra and maintains an active performance schedule with ensembles across ĢӰ's Front Range, including the Boulder Philharmonic, Boulder Chamber Orchestra, Central City Opera, ĢӰ Symphony, ĢӰ Ballet, ĢӰ Springs Philharmonic, Denver Brass, Richmond Symphony and Opera ĢӰ. Tanner also performs each summer with the Professors Trombone Choir at the Southeast Trombone Symposium in Columbus, Georgia, and is a member of the Blue Ridge Trombone Quartet, an ensemble of collegiate trombone professors that has performed together for more than 15 years.
As a soloist, Tanner won the American Trombone Workshop Division III Bass Trombone Solo Competition in 2016 and 2018 and the Southeastern Trombone Symposium S.E. Shires Solo Competition in 2015. He was also a finalist in the 2016 International Trombone Festival's Donald Yaxley Solo Competition. Tanner has performed alongside renowned trombonists Jim Markey, Charlie Vernon, Denson Paul Pollard, George Curran, Joseph Alessi, Bill Thomas, Brian Hecht and Gerry Pagano. From 2010 to 2014, he participated in a recording project at Columbus State University that resulted in the Summit Records release “A Beautiful Noise,” featuring trombone soloists performing with trombone ensemble. In 2025, Tanner released his debut solo album, “Resonant Renaissance,” through Soundset Recordings, featuring collaborative pianist Margaret McDonald.
A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Tanner earned a bachelor's degree in music education from Columbus State University and master's and doctoral degrees in trombone performance from the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied with Bradley Palmer and Nathaniel Brickens. He serves on the advisory board of the Sonus International Music Festival and as secretary of the Central Chapter of the College Music Society. Tanner is a member of the American Federation of Musicians, the International Trombone Association, the ĢӰ Music Educators Association, the College Music Society, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and the National Association for Music Education.