Senior
Sean Holly was born in DeKalb, IL. He attended DeKalb High School and was a member of the DHS Marching Barbs, for which he was drum major for two years. While in high school, Sean played with Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras, Midwest Young Artists, ILMEA All-State Honors Band and Honors Orchestra, NAfME All-Nationals Honors Band, the Northern Illinois University jazz program, and played in the pit for a number of musicals around the community. At Northwestern, Sean has performed with the Symphonic Band under Dr. Shawn Vondran, the Chamber Orchestra under Dr. Robert Hasty, the Symphony Orchestra under Maestro Victor Yampolsky, the Trombone Choir under Professor Christopher Davis, and various chamber groups. His opera experience includes Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites under Emanuele Andrizzi, and Copland’s The Tender Land under Adam Turner. Sean has played in pit orchestras for shows such as Sweet Charity, Company, A Chorus Line, and multiple Waa-Mu productions, all under the musical direction of Dr. Ryan T Nelson. He has also played with the Wheaton Pops Orchestra. Festivals that Sean has attended include the Eastman Summer Trombone Institute (2014), and the Southeast Trombone Symposium (2015, 2018). Sean’s principal teachers include Michael Mulcahy (Chicago Symphony Orchestra), Randall Hawes (Detroit Symphony Orchestra), Timothy Higgins (San Francisco Symphony), Douglas Wright (Minnesota Orchestra), Christopher Davis (Chicago area freelancer), and Kirk Lundbeck.