Gabriel Colby is a trombonist, teacher, recording artist, and certified fitness trainer based in Pittsburgh, PA. He serves as principal trombone for Nu Deco Ensemble, a cutting-edge chamber orchestra operating out of Miami, Florida, co-principal trombone for River City Brass Band, and is the trombone professor at Slippery Rock University.
Gabriel has a passion for chamber music and is constantly inspired through work with C Street Brass and Beauty Slap, two self-founded groups that he plays in and manages. C Street Brass performs a wide variety of genres in recital halls, performing arts centers, and more casual venues across the country. Beauty Slap, comprised of horns, keys, and electronics, is a “future-brass-thunder-funk” force of nature that tours nationally and plays sold-out shows in and around Pittsburgh. Both groups are focused on education and have given workshops at institutions including: Juilliard, Carnegie Mellon University, University of South Carolina, and San Francisco State University. Gabriel’s passion for chamber music shines in his work with these groups and his dedication to educating the next generation of musicians.
As a clinician, Gabriel has given workshops and seminars on healthy movement, injury management, and the business of music at: West Virginia University, Third Coast Trombone Retreat, Carnegie Mellon University, Nu Deco NXT and more. Gabriel uses his personal experience recovering from injury and studying a variety of movement disciplines to help musicians and non-musicians alike feel more confident, playful, and powerful in their bodies.