He is a trombone player, conductor, arranger and teacher born in Rochester, Pennsylvania who studied at the Curtis Institute of Music, graduating in 1986. He was the winner of the 1986 Philadelphia Orchestra Greenfield Competition and is still the only trombonist to win first prize since its inception in 1934.
After graduation in 1986 he was invited by the music director Riccardo Muti to become a member of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He now takes the Drs. Bong and Mi Wha Lee Chair and during his time with the orchestra has performed on many international tours and recordings along with an average of 150 concerts per year.
Performing as a soloist he has played with orchestras that include the Atlanta Symphony, the National Symphony of Taiwan and The Philadelphia Orchestra. As a conductor he has been the guest conductor of the Atlantic Brass Band, Delaware County Symphony and the Orchestra Society of Philadelphia among others.
He has also worked on arrangements of music for brass and string ensembles which have been published by companies in New York, Texas and Paris, France.
Recordings he has performed on include his own Fancy Free along with Four of a Kind and Four of a Kind 2 with his own trombone quartet. Other recordings include Gabrieli for Brass by The Canadian Brass, New Brass by Michael Davis, Slide Factory 2013 by New Trombone Collective, Peter Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 “Pathetique”/Dumka by The Philadelphia Orchestra and Eric Ewazen: Bass Hits by various artists.
In the field of musical education he has given numerous master classes and recitals on a national and international basis. He is a faculty member of the Curtis Institute of Music, the Juilliard School and Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance. Working as a chamber music coach he has held section rehearsals and classes and been a regular participant as a performer and teacher at many summer music festivals and is the founding music director of the Bar Harbor Brass Week. He has been a member of the Board of Trustees at Curtis Institute of Music and has worked in an administrative capacity at The Philadelphia Orchestra where he was involved in the negotiation of union contracts.
After assisting S.E. Shires Company in the design and creation of the instrument. he now performs on his Bollinger Model bass trombone.
Sources:
- https://www.philorch.org/your-philorch/meet-your-orchestra/musicians/blair-bollinger/
- https://www.instantencore.com/contributor/bio.aspx?CId=5026316
- https://www.juilliard.edu/music/faculty/bollinger-blair
- https://www.curtis.edu/person/blair-bollinger/
- https://www.allmusic.com/album/fancy-free-music-for-bass-trombone-mw0001823415
- https://www.allmusic.com/artist/blair-bollinger-mn0002262115/credits
- https://www.discogs.com/artist/2324413-Blair-Bollinger
- https://www.discogs.com/artist/2324413-Blair-Bollinger?type=Credits&filter_anv=0
- https://philparker.co.uk/product/1136/se-shires-blair-bollinger-model-bass-trombone
- https://hip-bonemusic.com/blogs/bone2pick/blair-bollinger