Hillary Simms

Hillary Simms, Trombone

Hillary Simms is a young dynamic trombonist from Torbay, Newfoundland and Labrador. Praised as “one of the rising stars in the trombone world for her stellar playing, infectious personality and deep musicianship” (Jens Lindemann), Ms. Simms started the year 2020 by being named Stratford Symphony’s 2020 Emerging Artist and by being a co-founder of The Canadian Trombone Quartet: Canada’s first professional all female trombone quartet who had their inaugural performance this past January.

Hillary was a performing artist in the first ever Canadian Women’s Brass Conference held in Toronto and a featured guest artist at the Memorial University of Newfoundland’s “Paddi-versary Extravaganza” Trombone Event. Her accomplishments include winning the Division II Solo Competition at the American Trombone Workshop, receiving second place prize for brass at the Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal Concours Manuvie, being a finalist in the Latzsch Trombone Festival Solo Competition and The International Trombone Festival Robert Marstellar Solo Competition as well as being named a recipient of the Sylva Gelber Music Foundation Award.

Hillary has recently played with the Canadian Opera Company, The Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra and the Windsor Symphony Orchestra and can be heard playing lead trombone on the CD “Then is Now” recorded at the Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity with Jens Lindemann and Matt Catingub released January 21st, 2020.

Hillary holds a Bachelors in Music Performance from McGill University, a Masters in Music Performance from Yale University and has recently completed an Artist Diploma from the Glenn Gould School, studying with Gordon Wolfe. Hillary intends to start her Doctorate of Musical Arts from Northwestern University in the fall of 2020.