Robyn Smith is the newly appointed Principal Trombonist of the Chicago Sinfonietta Orchestra and former Second Trombonist of the Detroit Opera. Robyn graduated with a Master of Music from the New England Conservatory studying under the tutelage of Toby Oft, principal trombone of the Boston Symphony. In her most recent engagements, Robyn has played, as a substitute, with the St. Louis Symphony, The Boston Pops and has toured internationally with the Boston Symphony. She has also previously performed as a fellow with the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, The New World Symphony, National Repertory Orchestra, American Repertory Theatre, Dee Dee Bridgewater Big Band at the Detroit Jazz Festival and with the artist Lizzo at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards. She performs with a variety of ensembles and is an associate artist with the Rodney Marsalis Big Brass. Robyn’s solo work includes a performance with the Georgia Philharmonic, Michigan State University’s MLK tribute concert and as a featured soloist on New England Conservatory’s Contemporary Ensemble concert. Her awards extend internationally as she was the winner of the 2018 International Trombone Association’s Marsteller Solo Competition. Robyn is an advocate for the dismantling of oppressive structures that contribute to the lack of black and brown faces within high art forms. She teaches privately while also teaching through the Sistema Ravinia program that targets underrepresented youth in music. Robyn also mentors young black and brown musicians with goals of becoming professional musicians in various programs across the country.

Gil Estes is a native of Atlanta, Georgia where he studied with Dr. Paul Mann and Mr. Bill Hill. He graduated from the Florida State University and studied with Dr. William Cramer and Dr. John Drew, later attending the University of Northern Colorado studying with Mr. Buddy Baker. Gil currently attends Georgia State University as part of the GSU 62 program and is pursuing a Master of Music in Trombone Performance with Dr. Bill Mann (son of Dr. Paul Mann mentioned above). Gil is an active free-lance musician. He can be found performing at various venues around metro-Atlanta in ensembles ranging from chamber brass and symphony orchestras to pit-orchestras, cover/tribute bands and big bands. He also teaches private lessons to students of all ages. Before moving to a career in software consulting, Gil was a high school band director in South Florida and metro-Atlanta. Bands under his direction consistently received high ratings in both marching and concert performance. Today, when he’s not on campus at Georgia State University, Gil works with various school band programs assisting with low brass instruction.

William Mann is the Associate Professor of Trombone at Georgia State University and has been on faculty since 2013.  Prior to his appointment at GSU, William taught at Morehead State University, the University of Missouri, Prairie View A&M University and the University of Mary-Hardin Baylor. In addition to college teaching, William taught instrumental music in the Texas Public Schools and served as a private studio teacher for over 12 years.

As a founding member of the American Trombone Quartet, William has appeared at the International Trombone Festival, the Lille Trombone Festival (Lille, France), the Midwest Trombone Euphonium Conference, the Big 12 Trombone Conference, Illinois State University, the University of Iowa, the University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, and James Madison University.

William is regularly sought after as a lecturer, clinician and performer throughout the United States and Brazil, including the Blue Lake Music Camp in Blue Lake, MI, the Bay View Music Festival in Bay View, MI, the Third Coast Trombone Retreat in Montague, MI, and the Festival Nacional de Musica in Goiania, Brazil, in addition to several universities across the United States.

William is currently the Second Trombone with the Atlanta Ballet, the Des Moines Symphony, and the Columbus Symphony (GA) Orchestras. His orchestral experiences also include performances with the Atlanta, Chattanooga, Lexington Philharmonic, Ohio Valley, West Virginia, Quad-City, Missouri, Tuscaloosa, Meridian, Victoria and Waco Symphony Orchestras. He has also performed with the Austin Lyric Opera, as well as the Victoria Bach, Texas Music and Hot Springs Music Festivals, and the 49th Armored Division Band. His jazz experience includes performing with the Di Martino Osland Jazz Orchestra (DOJO) and the Waco Jazz Orchestra, among others.

William received his Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees in trombone performance from the University of Texas at Austin in addition to a Bachelor of Music Education from Baylor University.