Ava Ordman

ABOUT

Ava Ordman is Professor Emeritus of Trombone, retiring in 2024. She joined the MSU faculty in 2002 after 24 years as principal trombone with the Grand Rapids Symphony, a job she attained at the age of 19. At age 41, Professor Ordman returned to school to pursue a degree in Counseling Psychology and then moved to the Detroit area to work as a psychologist and continue as a freelance trombonist. Once chosen as the Professor of Trombone at MSU, she has said that she knew this was where she was supposed to be. Since then, in addition to her professorial duties, Professor Ordman has enjoyed a varied life as a performer. She is principal trombone of both the Lansing Symphony and the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music Orchestra. She also performs regularly with the faculty brass quintet at Michigan State University, and the Monarch Brass, which is the flagship brass ensemble of the International Women’s Brass Conference. She has been a featured soloist with many orchestras throughout the United States and a featured artist at several International Trombone Festivals, among many other festivals and workshops. In 2017 she released her first solo recording, “It’s About Time: Music for Trombone by Women Composers.” In 2018, Professor Ordman was named the recipient of the 2018 Neill Humfeld Award for “Excellence in Teaching” by the International Trombone Association. She earned her Bachelor and Master degrees in Trombone Performance from the University of Michigan in 1975.