About

Biography

Carol Jarvis is one of the UK’s most in-demand and versatile freelance trombonists, session musicians, arrangers, orchestrators, and voiceover artists. Renowned for her exceptional musicianship and adaptability across musical genres, she has established an extraordinary career that spans classical, commercial, and contemporary performance.

Her dynamic career spans studio, stage, and screen, and she has toured and recorded extensively with a stellar roster of global icons including Sting, Paul McCartney, Queen, Amy Winehouse, Rod Stewart, Bon Jovi, Ellie Goulding, Rita Ora, Elbow, Seal, and Ben Howard. She has also appeared on major international television broadcasts alongside artists such as Taylor Swift, MUSE, Michael Bublé, and Harry Connick Jr.

She is regularly invited to perform as Principal Trombone with world-class orchestras and ensembles, such as the London Symphony Orchestra, all of the BBC Orchestras, and continues to be a leading presence in London’s West End musical theatre scene.

A distinguished graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music, Carol earned the institution’s highest qualifications and was the recipient of numerous prestigious awards and scholarships across the UK and USA. She also won the Royal Over-seas League Music Competition with the chamber ensemble she founded, further cementing her reputation as a trailblazer in both performance and leadership.

Carol has toured, recorded and worked extensively with the likes of Sting, Rita Ora, Paul McCartney, Queen, Elbow, Seal, Rod Stewart, Ben Howard, Amy Winehouse, Bon Jovi, Ellie Goulding and appeared on many renowned television programs with stars such as MUSE, Harry Connick Jr, Michael Bublé, Taylor Swift and so many more…

Carol Jarvis has performed as Guest Principal Trombone with every leading ensemble in the UK, including the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Opera House and Royal Ballet, Philharmonia Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, BBC Philharmonic, BBC Scottish, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, BBC Concert Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Hallé, Bournemouth Symphony, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Royal Ballet Sinfonia, City of London Sinfonia, Orchestra of Opera North, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra. Her versatility and artistry make her one of the most respected figures on the UK orchestral scene.

Carol’s prolific session career sees her featured across a wide spectrum of media – from Hollywood feature films and award-winning documentaries to global advertising campaigns, chart-topping albums, and commercial singles. Her contributions to major pop recordings have helped projects reach the top of the UK charts multiple times.

In addition to her performance work, Carol is a dedicated educator with over two decades as a professor of trombone at two of the UK’s leading conservatoires. She is internationally recognised for her masterclasses, having taught at prestigious institutions such as The Juilliard School (New York), Lucerne Conservatoire (Switzerland), University of California, Los Angeles, Rice University (Houston), Mexico City University, Lima Conservatoire (Peru), and the Jazz Institute in Graz, Austria. She frequently serves as an external examiner at UK and international conservatoires and is a respected member of international juries for major trombone competitions.

Carol has held prominent leadership roles within the global brass community: she is a former President of the British Trombone Society, became President of the International Trombone Festival in 2017, and in 2023 made history as the first female President of the International Trombone Association.

Beyond her distinguished career as a performer and educator, Carol Jarvis is a critically acclaimed and in-demand arranger and orchestrator. Her orchestrations have been commissioned by world-renowned ensembles such as the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, and she has collaborated with high-profile artists including Grammy Award-winner Corinne Bailey Rae and multi-Platinum icon Seal.

Her work features on Mercury Prize-winning and nominated albums, as well as chart-topping records that have reached the summit of both the UK and US Billboard charts. Recorded at the legendary Capitol Studios in Hollywood, her orchestrations have also been showcased on the global stage at the Academy Awards (The Oscars) – a testament to the breadth, prestige, and impact of her contributions to the music industry.

Carol is a solo endorsed artist with Michael Rath Trombones, reflecting her status as a leader in her field and a role model for brass musicians around the world.

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