Announcing the first of our Featured Artists performing at the British Trombone Festival 2026 - Sophie Bright.

Sophie Bright is a Swiss-British trombonist known for her warm, expressive tone, stylistic and technical fluency, and remarkable ability for interpretation across genres.

Her growing international profile now includes being named an official artist of the International Trombone Festival (ITF 2026) in Riga, Latvia, where she will present a solo recital and perform a concerto for two trombones at the opening concert with the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra (the oldest in the Baltic states) under the baton of legendary Christian Lindberg.

Born in France and raised in Switzerland, Sophie began her musical journey at age six. Early experiences with the big band "Dai Kimoto & Swing Kids" provided international performance opportunities, particularly at the 2014 Iguazu Music Festival, which inspired her to pursue classical training. By age twelve, she won a solo performance with the St. Gallen Chamber Orchestra.

Sophie has established herself as a versatile artist, winning numerous awards in both classical and jazz, including multiple grand prix at the final of the Swiss Youth Music Competition (FINALE SJMW 2015-2021), the United Classics Golden Key Trophy 2019, the Beringer Jazz Award 2019, the JAZZ SJMW 2019 Solo Act Winner, and the EMCY 2021 Prize.

Most prominently, Sophie’s international accomplishments include the first prize at the Lions International Music Competition Thomas Kuti 2023 in Austria and successes at the renowned international competition for wind soloists AEOLUS, where at age 18 she became one of the youngest trombone finalists and also won the Prize for Best Interpretation of a Contemporary Piece across all categories.

In 2026 she became a finalist in the 2026 Royal Over-Seas Leage (ROSL) Music Competition across the Wind, Brass and Percussion category, where she was also awarded the Phillip Jones Memorial Prize for Outstanding Brass Player.

Her radio appearances include Swiss Radio SRF2 as both a classical and jazz young talent, and recently BBC3. Sophie's concert highlights include her interpretation of Nathaniel Shilkret's jazz-inspired trombone concerto with the Mittelsächsische Philharmonie in Germany, as well as Brahms' Clarinet Sonata in F minor in her own arrangement, and notably, the premiere of a commissioned quadruplet concerto by Daniel Schnyder at the Swiss Youth Music Competition's 50th anniversary celebrations in Zurich's Tonhalle.

Her solo recital at the Films Classical Music Festival received praise for her "mature musicality" and "effortless stylistic versatility." Sophie holds a bachelor’s degree with distinction from the Hochschule der Künste Bern, where she studied with Ian Bousfield.

She is now pursuing a master’s program at the Royal Academy of Music in London under Peter Moore and Matthew Gee, supported by the prestigious ABRSM Scholarship, alongside competitive awards from Switzerland's Lyra Stiftung and Fritz-Gerber Stiftung.