Celebrating Black History: Darrin C. Milling (Trombone '90)

Renowned bass trombonist, educator, and Curtis alumnus Darrin Coleman Milling (’90) has premiered five solo concertos, along with a dozen chamber and unaccompanied works written for him throughout his career. Over the past three decades, he has served as an artist-clinician with the Edwards Instrument Company, makers of custom trombones and trumpets. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Mr. Milling’s life changed in 1997 when he won the international bass trombone audition for Brazil’s flagship orchestra in New York City. As an expat, he now celebrates 25 years of residency and musical activities in Brazil. He has recorded for Argo, BMG, and Decca labels, appeared on Maryland Public Television with the Baltimore Symphony, a European Television promotional with The Philadelphia Orchestra where he’s performed on numerous occasions as an official member of the substitute roster, and frequently appears on TV Cultura in Brazil.

Mr. Milling attended Peabody Conservatory’s Preparatory School and Baltimore School for the Arts. During his teenage years, he became the youngest appointed musician to the former Chesapeake Brass Quintet and the Louis Hamlin Baltimore Big Band and was a prize winner for the Baltimore Symphony’s youth solo competition. At age 13, he embarked on his first international tour as a bass trombonist with the Greater Baltimore Youth Orchestra, traveling to Asia.

Mr. Milling joined the student body of Curtis in 1986 as a student of Glenn Dodson (Trombone ’53). After receiving his bachelor’s degree at Curtis in 1990, he did post-graduate studies at the Esther Boyer College of Music at Temple University. He has held bass trombone positions in the former Pennsylvania Opera Theater Orchestra, the former Bridgeton Symphony (New Jersey), Naples Philharmonic (Florida), performed as a guest musician on many occasions with The Philadelphia Orchestra, and participated in concerts with the San Francisco Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Jerusalem Symphony (Israel), Tenerife Symphony (Spain), National Orchestra of Ecuador, and the Municipal Theater Orchestra of São Paulo.

Darrin C. Milling joins the National Theater Orchestra of Brazil as the bass trombone soloist for the world premiere of composer Ian Deterling’s Concerto No. 2 in F major, nicknamed “The Golden Retriever,” dedicated to him. Click HERE or watch the opening movement below.

Co-founder of the Low Brass Project chamber ensemble, Low Brass Project Brasil, São Paulo Brass Quintet, Duo das Américas, the Heritage Duo Ensemble, and Duo Música Viva São Paulo, he has performed in concert series throughout the United States, China, Europe, and Latin America. One of his more notable collaborations is with the elite trombone ensemble known as Posaune Decouple, founded by Glenn Dodson (Mr. Milling’s teacher at Curtis) and comprised of trombonists from The Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Bavarian Radio Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, and other internationally renowned ensembles. In 2014, he received the Cultural Merit Award and the prestigious title of “Comendador” from the Carlos Gomes Brazilian Society of Arts, Culture, and Education.

As an educator and instructor, Mr. Milling has served on the faculty of Wilkes University and has presented masterclasses at Tanglewood Music Center, Conservatório de Tatuí (Brazil), Peabody Conservatory, Eastman School of Music, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, New England Conservatory, Lynn University School of Music in Florida, Mannes School of Music, and has taught lessons as a guest at his alma mater at Curtis. He served on the executive committee of the Curtis Institute of Music Alumni Affairs Council from 1994 until 2001.

Mr. Milling’s recent performance highlights have included a guest artist appearance at the Virginia Arts Festival performing with pianist Olga Kern; winner of the 2010 Cliburn International Piano Competition; and guest soloist for the world premiere of composer Ian Deterling’s Concerto No. 2 with the National Theatre Orchestra in Brasília, Brazil, conducted by Claudio Cohen. He was recently a guest artist on Luzerne Chamber Music Festival series, performing with pianist Toby Blumenthal, served as a guest artist for the premiere of Invenções Brasileiras No. 1 by Brazilian composer Juliana Ripke and “Across Continents” by African-American composer Trent Johnson, in Goiânia, Brazil, and premiered Mr. Johnson’s The Tie That Binds for bass trombone with the Greater Miami Youth Orchestra. 

Learn more about Darrin C. Milling HERE.

Please visit the Curtis Institute of Music Open Archives and Recitals (CIMOAR). Learn more about Curtis’s library and archives HERE.

Photo Credits: 1.) Courtesy of Edwards Instrument Co; Erica Viggiani Bicudo. 2, 5, & 6.) Courtesy of Darrin C. Milling’s official Facebook page. Sixth image with pianist Olga Kern at the Virginia Arts Festival, May 2023. 3.) Mr. Milling with his wife, violinist Svetlana Tereshkova, at CIEE in Brazil, October 2023; courtesy of the Low Brass Project’s Facebook page. 4. Photo by Erica Viggiani Bicudo.