Dr. Justin Cook
Assistant Professor of Music (Trombone)
Email: jhcook@ou.edu
Justin Cook joined the faculty of the University of Oklahoma in the fall of 2025. Prior to OU, Dr. Cook was the Associate professor of Trombone at the University of Central Arkansas where he taught studio trombone, trombone choir, brass ensembles, low brass methods, and directed the Jazz Repertory Ensemble. In addition to his college teaching, Justin has been a faculty member for the Southeast Trombone Symposium and is the Festival Manager for the International Trombone Festival. In the summer of 2022 Dr. Cook hosted the International Trombone Festival at the University of Central Arkansas.
Recently, Justin has been featured as a soloist with the Natural State Brass Band at the 2022 International Trombone Festival and performed David Biedenbender’s Their Eyes are Fireflies with the UCA Wind Ensemble in April of 2023. He has performed as a soloist at the 2021, 2022, and 2024 International Trombone Festivals. His first solo recording was released in 2018 and is entitled, “Connections.” As a freelancer, Dr. Cook has performed with the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas, the Arkansas Symphony, the Ft. Smith Symphony, the Tulsa Symphony, and The Arkansas Repertory Theatre. He has performed on the national tours of Mary Poppins, The Book of Mormon, Wicked, and Back to the Future.
Equally at home as an educator and performer, Dr. Cook’s trombone studio and students have seen tremendous success. While at UCA, the trombone studio tripled in size and featured three trombone choirs: The BearBones Trombone Choir, the Natural Slides Trombone Ensemble and the Jazz Bones. The trombone choirs performed at the American Trombone Workshop, the 2018, 2021, and 2024 International Trombone Festivals at the University of Iowa, Columbus State University, and Texas Christian University and were featured performers at the 2018 Midwest Clinic in Chicago, IL. The UCA Trombone Ensembles performed a featured concert as the host of the 2022 International Trombone Festival. In May of 2023, the Natural Slides Trombone Ensemble recorded their first album entitled, “Sempre Avanti” which was released in the spring of 2024. Dr. Cook’s students have been finalists and winners of the American Trombone Workshop Solo Competitions, the Big 12 Solo Competitions, the International Women’s Brass Conference Solo competitions and the Southeast Trombone Symposium’s Solo Trombone Competition. They have graduated and been accepted to some of the world’s most prestigious universities and conservatories. Dr. Cook has presented clinics and masterclasses at universities all across the United States and in 2019, presented a session on brass pedagogy at the Midwest Clinic.
Justin Cook holds a Bachelor of Music Education and Bachelor of Trombone Performance degree from Northern Arizona University, a Master of Music in Instrumental Conducting from Northern Arizona University, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of North Texas. He has studied with Tony Baker, David Vining, Vern Kagarice, and Peter Vivona. During the summer of 2005 Justin was a member of the Disneyland All-American College Band and in 2009, Dr. Cook was chosen as one of 18 international tenor trombonists to attend the Alessi Seminar where he had the opportunity to work with Joseph Alessi and Peter Ellefson.
Justin Cook is a S.E. Shires performing artist and Greg Black performing artist and performs exclusively on Shires trombones and Greg Black Mouthpieces.
