Timothy Higgins joins Chicago Symphony as its principal trombone

Timothy Higgins has been appointed as principal trombone of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association announced Sept. 16. He officially steps into the position for the CSO’s first program of the 2025/26 Season on Sept. 18-19.

Higgins will hold the Lisa and Paul Wiggin Principal Trombone Chair; he succeeds Jay Friedman, who retires in September after 63 seasons as one of the longest-serving musicians in the CSO’s history.

Higgins won the final audition for principal trombone in April 2025 and is the second CSO musician to be appointed by Zell Music Director Designate Klaus Mäkelä. He appeared as guest principal trombone with Mäkelä and the CSO for performances of Mahler’s Third Symphony in April and with Jaap van Zweden for spring performances of Mahler’s Sixth and Seventh symphonies in Chicago, on the CSO’s 2025 European Tour and during the final two weeks at the Ravinia Festival this summer as guest principal trombone.

Before his appointment to the CSO, Higgins served as principal trombone of the San Francisco Symphony, which he joined in 2008 after his appointment by Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas. Before joining the San Francisco Symphony, Higgins was the acting second trombonist with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. In addition to the CSO, Higgins has also performed with major U.S. orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Milwaukee Symphony and Baltimore Symphony, as well as Washington National Opera, Chicago’s Music of the Baroque, the Sun Valley Music Festival, the Aspen Music Festival and Grand Teton Music Festival.

Along with his active orchestral career, Higgins is a highly regarded composer and arranger. He was the sole arranger of the National Brass Ensemble’s Gabrieli recording. In November 2021, Higgins composed and performed as soloist in the premiere of his Concerto for Trombone with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony.

Arrangements and compositions by Higgins also have been programmed by the San Francisco Symphony, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, Steamboat Springs Strings Festival and many university brass ensembles. His works have been commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony, Detroit Symphony, American Brass Quintet, international tuba soloist Sergio Carolino and the Music City Brass Ensemble.

Higgins was the composer-in-residence at Music Academy of the West in 2018, debuting a piece for chamber ensemble and voice featuring American soprano Deborah Voigt. His arrangements and original compositions are available through his publishing company, 415Music, established in 2014. He released in 2013 a solo CD, "Stage Left," which features his own works. Recent albums include two 2020 self-produced recordings from his Underground series.

A respected educator, Higgins has served on the faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music and the Pokorny Low Brass Seminar at Northern Illinois University. He also has been part of the brass faculty at the Aspen Music Festival and Pacific Music Festival. Higgins has led masterclasses in Australia, China, Canada, Japan and North America, including classes at the Royal Conservatory in Toronto, New World Symphony, Vanderbilt University, Manhattan School of Music and the Juilliard School of Music.

Originally from Houston, Texas, Higgins came to the Chicago area to attend Northwestern University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in music performance and studied with CSO Trombone Michael Mulcahy. His other principal teachers were Michael Warny (Houston Grand Opera) and Royce Landon (Des Moines, Iowa). In 2005, Higgins won the Robert Marsteller Tenor Trombone Competition, as well as the International Trombone Association Trombone Quartet competition with his group CT3.

While attending the Tanglewood Music Center, Higgins was awarded the Grace B. Upton Award for Outstanding Fellow. He is a Bach Artist and an Ultimate Brass Artist.