Alex Regazzi is the Second Trombonist of the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra and has been a core member of the Orchestra since 2022. On March 19, 2025, he’ll make his debut as a featured soloist with the orchestra during the Focus Series concert “Both Slides of the Trombone.”
We sat down with Alex to learn more about his experiences, his inspirations, and what we can look forward to on his solo during Arthur Pryor’s Blue Bells of Scotland.
I’ve been playing with the orchestra since 2014 and it was Scheherazade under Eric Jacobsen on his first concert ever with the orchestra, so that was a pretty cool experience.
One of my favorite memories has to be from October 25, 2014. That day was life changing for me and almost the catalyst for bringing this moment in my life to me. That was the day I met Jeff Thomas!
We were doing a performance at Lake Eola for Keith Lay’s “Distance Music” where we had two separate brass choirs across the lake with train horns attached to the swan boats in the middle! So, really awesome concept, really fun afternoon.
Jeff and I were playing the same part being the distance of the groups, we had pretty large brass choirs, and so I was fortunate enough to play really well next to him and try to listen. You know, I’ll never forget what he said to me. He leans over and goes “Hey, you know you sound like you know what you’re doing!”
From that moment, I was so through the moon and was like “That’s such a huge compliment.” Eventually it was like “well we need to get you on the sub list” and I was like “oh, I’m actually already on the sub list”, and he was like “oh, great!” So I went from the murkiness of the bottom pool to, oh hey, I’m number two on the sub list!
From there I started subbing with the orchestra and eventually, the position opened up and I just went for it. I worked so hard and I put in the time and I just felt so focused and good about it, and I felt so cared for, so nurtured, so – just like a family member and I felt like it was inevitable, like I just had to do this, like it was part of my destiny.
And lo and behold, September 2022 I won the position and from there, everything’s just been a dream come true. I’ve played some incredible music, definitely some bucket list pieces, and now I get to do Blue Bells of Scotland for the Orlando community. It all started with that day back in 2014! Just being able to meet Jeff, I’m always going to be grateful for that moment and it’s going to be one of my most treasured memories, ever.
Q. How old were you when you moved back to Orlando, where were you in your career?
I had just moved back to Orlando in 2011. I was living in New York, just spent about 12 years there doing freelance work and other non-music work to pay the bills as most musicians do. It wasn’t waiting tables, but it was certainly along those lines. So I moved back to Orlando, I think I was about 31, 32ish. I met Jeff in my early 30s and now I’m going to be 44 this year.
Q. How did you know who Jeff Thomas was, how did that become a name you recognized?
Well, I knew he was the principal trombone of the Orlando Philharmonic and everyone who was in it was like “have you met Jeff Thomas?” And I was like, “I’m trying!” But we actually did have a chance encounter beforehand. I was working at a music retail store in town when I first moved back to Orlando and he was there with his family. His daughters were buying him a Father’s Day gift and it was a ukulele, I believe, that they wanted to buy him. So, I introduced myself! Eventually it all worked out and I came to understand that he was a member of the Dallas Brass and he was literally a trombone player for life and one of the best musicians I’ve ever known.
Q. What was it like growing up in Orlando?
When I was 6 years old we moved to South Orlando. My parents saved up some money and bought a house – it was in a new subdivision. It was before the Mall of Millenia area existed. It was just a two lane road and a bunch of trees!
I went to Palmetto Elementary School, which is one of our YPC schools which is so awesome, then I went to Walker Middle School, and then I attended Dr. Phillips High School. It was there where I did the visual and performing arts magnet and was lucky enough to take music theory, electronic music, and piano as a part of my curriculum as a high school student! After graduating high school I went to the Manhattan School of Music and did my undergraduate there. I was freelancing and trying to make it there and kind of got tired of it. New York is a great place to visit for a while and hang and have a couple weeks and see people and get a slice [of pizza], but you know living there is very difficult and I needed a change of scenery. So I came back to Orlando and just started from the ground up getting to know people, started meeting people, started to freelance on my days off basically when I got time off from my retail job because I was working at a music store full time, and just trying to keep the craft going. As any musician will tell you, there are ups and downs, and there’s no way around it. You’re going to have lulls and you’re going to have times where you’ll be like “I don’t want to touch the instrument today,” but you have to. You have to pick it up and once you start playing it’s like “oh it’s ok, everything’s fine now”. When you work 9-10 hours a day at a job you don’t get to do musically or music related, you have to find time to make the time. That’s where everything started to shift. I went from the retail side to performing more and eventually I resigned from my full time [retail] job. I spent 5 years at that music store, and I call it “paying my dues”. But while I was at that job I met conductors, musicians, friends that I’ve had now for over 10 years.
Q. Who are you listening to for inspiration on this piece?
Arthur Pryor was a trombonist for John Philip Sousa. He was a virtuoso, he was one of the first trombone virtuosos, and so you can actually find period recordings of him performing it! So I have inspiration from the original from him.
There’s Robert Isele who’s one of the most incredible trombonists ever. I believe I heard a story of him practicing Blues Bells of Scotland with his foot! Christian Lindberg is one of my absolute heroes of trombone, he’s been my idol since I was about 12/13 years old when I first started. His recording has always been one that I’ve always tried to keep up with. And then Alain Trudel! If you want to hear what fire sounds like on the trombone, listen to the last variation of Alain Trudel on Blue Bells of Scotland. Oh my gosh, I wish I could play it that fast! Those are the ones I’m digging on now.
Q. Why is Blue Bells of Scotland considered one of the premiere trombone solos?
Because of the virtuosic nature of it. It’s a theme and variations and you’ve got this lovely melody that’s rather simple, but very heartfelt. Then he takes it, and turns it into something you wouldn’t normally hear a trombone player do. We’re known for a lot of ballads, a lot of beautiful sounds and lots of vibrato. Everyone thinks of Bolero or Tuba Mirum from the Mozart Requiem, but this is more of a technical showcase. It kind of shows how not only we can play this lovely lyrical style, but this technical style which includes a lot of notes.
If you’re coming to the March 19 performance, you’re going to hear an original cadenza that I’ve come up with that is inspired by Bach and Bela Fleck. If you’re familiar with Bela Fleck he is a banjo player and one of my favorites. We’ll leave it at that and leave a little mystery! Anyways, it’s something I’ve been working on for a long time and it’s lovely to incorporate into something that’ll be unique, and I guarantee it’ll be something you rarely hear the trombone ever do.
Click here to learn more about the program and get your tickets today!