Edward (Kip) Hickman
Kip Hickman was appointed Principal Trombone of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra in 2001 and Principal Trombone of the West Michigan Symphony (Muskegon, MI) in 2013. Prior to those appointments, he held the position of Second Trombone with the Lansing Symphony Orchestra for 4 years. He has also performed with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Opera Orchestra, Grand Rapids Symphony, and Toledo Symphony as well as the Detroit Chamber Winds and Great Lakes Brass. He is currently a member of the Western Brass Quintet, Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra Brass Quintet, and Kalamazoo Brass.
He has traveled and performed with various groups throughout the world including Switzerland, Spain, China, and Mexico, and played in world-renowned venues in the United States such as Carnegie Hall, Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor, Orchestra Hall in Detroit, and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California. He has also soloed with the West Michigan Symphony, the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra, and the Western Michigan University Trombone Choir on three separate occasions, most recently, in 2018.
His principal teachers have included George Oliver, Bill Booth, Dennis Smith, and David Langlitz. He has also studied with members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and Los Angeles Philharmonic. He has held teaching positions at Grand Valley State University and Goshen College and taught privately around the state of Michigan. He has had former students attend Juilliard, the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Western Michigan University, DePaul, Central Michigan University, and Grand Valley State University. He regularly coaches the Kalamazoo Junior Symphony Brass Quintet and the KJSO Brass Section. He also teaches privately at Crescendo Academy of Music, in Kalamazoo, Portage, and Mattawan, Michigan, and is a low brass instructor at the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra’s Kids in Tune. He currently resides in Kalamazoo with his wife and three daughters.
