Willim A. Baker, was appointed Bass Trombonist of the Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra in 2024 by Music Director Enrique Mazzola. He also currently serves as the Principal Bass Trombonist of the Monterey Symphony, a post he has held since 2018. From 2021-2024, Will primarily performed with the San Francisco Symphony, including over 200 performances, and European Tour, and the 2023 SFS recordings with Maestro EsaPekka Salonen.
A native of Walnut Creek, California, Will has performed with the San Francisco Opera and Ballet, the Detroit Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Alabama Symphony, and Malaysian Philharmonic.
Will began his professional career in Iowa, performing as the tenured member of Orchestra Iowa from 2013-17 and the Des Moines Symphony since 2014-18. In 2016, while artist in residence with the Southeast Iowa Symphony (SEISO), Will commissioned and premiered a new bass trombone concerto by composer Robert Tindle titled At Sixty Miles An Hour. In 2018, Will premiered the Wind Ensemble arrangement with Travis Cross and the UCLA Wind Ensemble.
Will graduated Cum Laude from UCLA with a BA in music performance, studying Euphonium and Bass Trombone with Patrick Sheridan. He then earned a Masters Degree in Bass Trombone performance at Northwestern University where he studied with Michael Mulcahy, Randall Hawes, Peter Ellefson, and Tim Higgins. After school, Will continued his studies with Kyle Covington of the San Diego Symphony, and all the members of the San Francisco Symphony brass section.
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