East Studio Building, JS432
Education
- M.M., Master of Music, Northwestern University, 1985
- B.A., Bachelor of Arts, Linfield College, 1984
Biography
Peter Ellefson is professor of music in trombone at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he is a former chair of the Brass Department.
Ellefson has performed, recorded, and toured internationally with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. He has performed with the Boston, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, National, and Oregon symphony orchestras as well as The Cleveland Orchestra.
A native of southern Oregon, he is a former member of the Seattle Symphony, performing on trombone, tenor tuba, and bass trumpet. He also served as principal trombone for many cycles of Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen with Seattle Opera.
Ellefson is a frequent recitalist, soloist, and clinician in the U.S. and internationally. Composers Anthony Barfield, James Stephenson, and Kevin Walczyk have written concertos for him. Chamber music credits include Canadian Brass, Chicago Chamber Musicians, Chicago Symphony Orchestra Brass, Chicago Trombone Consort, Fulcrum Point New Music Project, New York Philharmonic Brass Quintet, Proteus 7, Washington Symphonic Brass, and Trombones de Costa Rica.
He has held faculty positions at Northwestern University, Roosevelt University, University of Costa Rica, Music Academy of the West, and Alessi Seminar. Selected master classes include The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, Curtis Institute of Music, Eastman School of Music, Peabody Institute of Music, University of Oregon, Florida State University, University of Washington, Ohio University, University of Alabama, University of New Mexico, Melbourne Conservatorium, Sydney Conservatorium, and Queensland Conservatorium.
In addition to many soundtrack, orchestral, and chamber recordings, Ellefson’s solo CD releases are Pura Vida (2010), À la manière de Defaye (2017), and 3 (2019).
He plays Bach and Conn trombones and is a Conn-Selmer Artist.