James Justin Kent

International Trombonist, James Justin Kent, is currently Second Trombonist with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Stockholm, Sweden.  Mr. Kent has been on the Eastern Music Festival faculty since 2018 and the Norddeustsche Orchesterakademie (North German Orchestra Academy) faculty since 2020. He has given masterclasses, performed recitals and concerts, and taught aspiring young trombone students all over the world.
Mr. Kent’s first position of note was as Principal Trombone with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under Zubin Metha. He then spent a season as Principal Trombone with the Sarasota Orchestra before winning a position in a newly founded orchestra in Qatar, the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra. He spent over four years in Qatar playing Co- Principal Trombone where several renowned conductors conducted regularly, including Lorin Maazel, Dmitri Kitajenko, Gerd Albrecht, Marc Minkowski, and James Gaffigan. While in Qatar, he held a teaching position at the Qatar Music Academy. In 2012, Mr. Kent became the Second Trombonist with the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg. The following year, he moved to Austria and became Solo-Trombonist with the Bruckner Orchester Linz. 
As a sought after clinician, he has given masterclasses at Eastman School of Music, Conservatori de Música de Barcelona, Artave ESCOLA PROFISSIONAL ARTÍSTIC (Porto, Portugal), Mannes School of Music, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Kärntner Landeskonservatorium, and many others. He has also performed with numerous orchestras across the world, including Munich Philharmonic, Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich, WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Gürzenich Köln, Boston Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Staatsphilharmonie Nürnberg, NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Niederbayerische Philharmonie, Kärntner Sinfonieorchester, and Hong Kong Philharmonic.

In his free time, Mr. Kent is an avid swimmer, homemade pizza maker and lumberjack. He lives in Stockholm, Sweden with his beautiful wife, Andrea, and adores being Papa to their three children Ryder, Bruckner, and Anna Louisa.