Steve Wolfinbarger

Dr. Steve Wolfinbarger is an accomplished trombone educator and performer currently teaching at Missouri State University, where he shares trombone faculty duties with Professor Jason Hausback. He is Professor Emeritus of Music at Western Michigan University and a recipient of the prestigious International Trombone Association Award, the organization’s highest honor, as well as the Michigan Professor of the Year award.

Dr. Wolfinbarger earned his Bachelor of Music Education from Evangel University and both the Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in trombone performance from the University of North Texas.Over the course of his career, Dr. Wolfinbarger’s students have achieved significant national and international recognition. They have earned 27 finalist placements in International Trombone Association solo competitions, including nine first-place winners, along with numerous honorable mentions and alternates. His students have also been finalists and winners in the American Trombone Workshop National Solo Competition and the Yamaha Young Performing Artists Competition, and have appeared as finalists in the Minnesota Orchestra’s Steve Zellmer Orchestral Excerpt Competition. Others have been selected as Associate Trombonists with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago.

Students from his studio have been admitted to many of the world’s leading music schools, including The Juilliard School, Yale University, the Eastman School of Music, the Cleveland Institute of Music, New England Conservatory, Manhattan School of Music, Northwestern University, Florida State University, Indiana University, Vanderbilt University, and the University of North Texas. Former students now teach trombone at more than 25 universities across the United States and perform professionally around the world.

Dr. Wolfinbarger has served in numerous leadership roles within the International Trombone Association, including president (1994–1996), treasurer of the International Trombone Festival, and longtime chair of the ITA Governance Committee. In 2019 he received the International Trombone Association’s inaugural Kenneth Hanlon Award recognizing outstanding service and generosity within the trombone community.

His teaching has also been recognized with Western Michigan University’s Distinguished Teaching Award and the Michigan Professor of the Year honor, presented by the Carnegie Foundation and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. In recognition of his pedagogical influence, a 2023 doctoral dissertation at Florida State University examined his teaching, career, and impact on the trombone profession. In 2025, Western Michigan University’s College of Fine Arts established the Steve Wolfinbarger Endowment Fund for Trombone Studies in his honor.

Dr. Wolfinbarger remains active internationally as a guest soloist, clinician, and educator at leading conservatories and festivals throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and South America.