Biography
Jeffrey Holbrook is currently the Associate/Acting Principal trumpet of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra in South Korea. At the age of 23, he is the youngest member of Korea's oldest and most esteemed classical symphony orchestra. He began his tenure with the orchestra in the summer of 2006, just a few months after completing his undergraduate degree in Trumpet Performance at The Juilliard School. With the Seoul Philharmonic, Jeff has toured throughout South Korea, Thailand, Japan, China, and the United States.
Jeff began playing trumpet at the age of 10, under the instruction of Joseph Burzinski, a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music. In high school, he studied with Dr. Michael Ewald, Professor of Trumpet at the University of Illinois. For three summers in high school, Jeff attended the Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan, where he played Principal Trumpet for the World Youth Symphony Orchestra throughout the summer of 2002. During his high school years, he also served as principal trumpet of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, Illinois All-State Honor's Orchestra and twice as principal of Band of America's Honor Band of America.
Jeff entered Juilliard in 2002, studying under both Raymond Mase of the American Brass Quintet and Mark Gould, former Principal of the MET Orchestra. Jeff toured extensively with Juilliard ensembles, including concerts in Germany, Switzerland, Finland, England, as well as stops across the United States. In response to the Juilliard Symphony's December 11, 2005 performance of Mahler's Third Symphony in Carnegie Hall, the New York Times noted, "Jeffrey Holbrook gave a superb account of the long posthorn solo in the Third Movement...". Jeff has performed and recorded with the American Brass Quintet and can be heard on ABQ's recent album, "In Gabrielli's Day". He also attended several music festivals during his collegiate summers, including the Festival del Due Monde in Spoleto, Italy and the National Repertory Orchestra in Breckenridge, Colorado. He has had the opportunity to work with many well-regarded conductors, including Charles Dutoit, Gerard Schwartz, James DePriest, James Conlon, and Seoul Philharmonic's own Myung-Whun Chung.
Jeff would like to acknowledge the support of his family in his home state of Illinois as well as his fiancee, Sophie, who is also an accomplished trumpet player and middle school band and orchestra teacher in Los Gatos, California. In his free time, Jeff enjoys following sports, especially his favorite team, the Chicago Cubs.
