Biography

Felix Padilla has served as the Bass Trombonist of the U.S. Army West Point Band and New Haven Symphony Orchestra since 2019 and 2023 respectively. He has also had the honor of performing with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, and Boston Pops Orchestra. Felix has performed under the baton of world renowned conductors such as Franz Welser-Möst, Leonard Slatkin, Keith Lockhart, Juanjo Mena, Alasdair Neale, Hugh Wolff and David Loebel.

Felix has been a featured soloist with the West Point Band and Columbus State University Trombone Ensemble. Felix can be heard as a soloist on Columbus State University Trombone Ensemble’s album Full Tilt. He also performed on James Markey’s album Psychedelia.

Felix was awarded a brand new bass trombone as winner of the 2018 Southeast Trombone Symposium's S.E. Shires Solo Competition. Furthermore, he achieved the runner-up position in the Orchestral Excerpts Competition during the same event. Further accolades include being a finalist in the 2019 International Trombone Association's Edward Kleinhammer Competition and the 2017 American Trombone
Workshop's Bass Trombone Division II Competition.
Felix earned his Master of Music from the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied with James Markey. He studied under Dr. Bradley Palmer while studying for his Bachelor of Music at Columbus State University. Other musical mentors have included Toby Oft, Steve Lange, Norman Bolter, Mike Roylance, and Joseph Vascik.

Felix finds great joy in passing on music to the next generation and has a studio of dedicated students. Felix first fell in love with music and the captivating sound of the trombone listening to Willie Colon, a famous Puerto Rican trombonist, on his father’s Latin music radio station.
Felix started playing the trombone at the age of 9 in his childhood town of Long Beach, NY. He continued exploring his musical passion after moving to Orlando, FL, studying both classical and jazz music. Outside of music, Felix loves spending time in nature with his wife and baking pizza.