Biography
Tobias Stavngaard is an upcoming trombonist, composer, arranger, conductor and educator living in Copenhagen. Tobias was born in 2000 in Allerød, Denmark. He started his music education at a local school. Later, upon completing primary school, he enrolled at the music-profiled high school Sankt Annæ Gymnasium. Afterwards, he immediately began his studies at The Danish National Academy of Music. Tobias earned his bachelor’s degree in 2022, and he is now pursuing a master’s degree in composition.
Alongside his studies, Tobias is one of the most active trombonists on the Scandinavian music scene. He is frequently playing at venues all around Denmark presenting original jazz music with Tobias Stavngaard Sextet (check it out). October 27th, 2023, the band released their second album “By the Last Man” which was selected as the 'album of the week' on the Danish radio channel 'P8 jazz'. The new release builds upon their success with the debut album “Historier om dette og hint” (2022) which has been streamed more than 750,000 times. In addition to leading his own groups, Tobias is often hired by leading bands and artists in Denmark, which has led him to play with artists like Jerry Bergonzi and Kathrine Windfeld Big Band. He has been playing 2nd trombone in the highly acclaimed Danish big band Aarhus Jazz Orchestra since 2020.
As a composer, Tobias has put his energy into writing for jazz sextet and big band (17 piece jazz orchestra). In 2023, Tobias won the 2nd prize in the “Nordic Composer Contest” with his piece “Imagining the Life of the Last Dodo” written for big band. The jury found that the piece was the 2nd best out of a total of 19 participants. In addition, Tobias’ work as an arranger has led him to take on all kinds of different tasks ranging from writing pop horn arrangements to fusion-jazz big band charts.
Tobias has taught trombone playing, improvisation, ear training and music theory with great success over the last couple of years! Additionally, he has been conducting and instructing quite a lot of jazz bands ranging in levels from aspiring conservatory students to adult amateurs.
Musician
I am very happy to have collaborated with artists such as Rasmus Seebach, Andreas Odbjerg and Suspekt. The following playlist is a mixtape of tracks on which I am playing in background horn sections.
Studio musician
Jazz soloist
The playlist below is a collection of tracks on which I am a featured soloist. All the tracks come from releases with my sextet. Make sure to check out the band!
Ensemble player
One of the things I enjoy the most is playing in big bands. On the playlist below I gathered some of the best tunes that I have recorded with Aarhus Jazz Orchestra - one of the leading jazz bands in Denmark.
Composer
So far, I have mostly worked on composing for big band and smaller jazz ensembles, but I am happy to dig into any kind of task you have in mind. So please do not hesitate to contact me if you are interested in some of the sheets that I have done over the years, or if you would like to commission a new composition.
Composing for big band
In 2023, I won the 2nd prize in the “Nordic Composer Contest” with my piece “Imagining the Life of the Last Dodo” written for big band. The jury found that the piece was the 2nd best out of a total of 19 participants from five different countries!
Composing for jazz combo
I lead my own six-piece jazz ensemble, the Tobias Stavngard Sextet. With this group, I have released two albums each consisting of five strong and varied compositions.
“Stavngaard is on top of his material - he imparts calmness to his compositions that do not doubt or waver. He has an overview and exudes maturity.”
Arranger
In recent years, I have frequently been hired by artists to arrange their original compositions. A few of my favorite commissions include:
Jazz horn arrangements for “Songs to Comfort” by Marie Mørck.
Big band arrangement of “Balance” written by tenor saxophonist Michael Bladt and performed by Aarhus Jazz Orchestra.
Pop horn arrangements for several releases by Elias Bendix.
In addition, I have made several transcriptions and arrangements for projects in my own name. Please visit my webshop to browse through all the sheets that I have done over the years.
Conductor
As a part of my current studies, I am taking lessons in orchestral conducting since I am working more and more as a conductor in front of big bands and other kinds of jazz ensembles.
My experience as an instructor and mediator in music comes from working with my own bands over the past three years. I have had great success in transferring these abilities from the field of instructing my own smaller bands to the field of working with big bands - knowing the right thing to do to get the best results.
I also find myself instructing and educating student bands (small groups and big bands) from time to time. This is something I really love!
Educator
I am happy to give lessons in trombone playing, improvising, ear training, music theory, band leadership, arranging, composing and music notation.
My teaching can take any form. I have experience in presenting master classes, teaching larger groups of students and teaching single students.
I speak Danish and English fluently.
“Tobias works very meticulously. He quickly deciphers my questions and gives me meaningful answers that advance both my playing and my understanding of music in general. I can easily take the lessons Tobias provides me and apply them during practice at home. I get tools that I can use in a multitude of ways, and this has made me progress quickly since starting to take lessons with Tobias.”