Biography

Kelton Koch, born in Lake Jackson, Texas, is Second Trombonist of the Vienna Philharmonic/Vienna State Opera and Professor of Trombone at the Kunstuniversität Graz-Oberschützen. Prior to joining the Vienna Philharmonic, he was a member of Zurich Opera Academy (2017–18) and New World Symphony in Miami Beach under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas from 2014 to 2017.

He has been recognized in many national and international solo competitions, including winning a Special Prize at the XVI International Tchaikovsky Competition in St. Petersburg (2019). In 2023, he performed Tōru Takemitsu’s Cantos II and Fantasma for Trombone and Orchestra with the Bern Symphony Orchestra.

He has performed as guest principal trombonist with the London Symphony Orchestra, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Munich Philharmonic, and London Philharmonia. He has also performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, and the Silk Road Ensemble.

As a teacher with a strong interest in pedagogy, he has given masterclasses in the United States, Colombia, Switzerland, and China, and was Teaching Assistant at the Hochschule der Künste Bern from 2020–22.

He is the son of a high school band director and began piano lessons at age six and trombone when he was 11 years old. He has a Bachelor of Music in Trombone Performance, Mathematics, and a minor in Economics from Northwestern University, where he studied primarily with Michael Mulcahy. He also studied with former principal trombone of the Vienna Philharmonic, Ian Bousfield, at the Hochschule der Künste Bern, while completing a Specialized Master’s in Solo Performance.