ABOUT

George Brodbeck has been a professional musician in Sydney, Australia for over 40 years. Born and educated in Switzerland, he migrated to Australia in 1965.

He now lives in the Hunter Valley, 2 hours north of Sydney where he composes & arranges music for students of all ages with a special focus on beginners.

Here are some of the highlights of his career:

As a trombone player:

• Played in the bands and orchestras of Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis and Liza Minelli (1988 tour), Natalie Cole, Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, Billy Eckstine and lots more.
• Orchestra member of many musicals including principle trombone in "42nd Street" for 2 years and "The Boy From Oz" (1998)

As an arranger/composer:

• Staff arranger (and trombonist) for Channel 9 in Sydney for almost 20 years. All arrangements for the original production of "The Boy From Oz" and re-write the music for a larger orchestra in 2006 when Hugh Jackman played Peter Allen in the Arena version of the show.
• Film music credits include "Dirty Deeds" and "The Night They Called It A Day"
• Re-arranged the musicals "Little Me" & "Singing In The Rain" for special size orchestras.

As a teacher:

• Arranging (and trombone) teacher at the department of Jazz Studies of the Sydney Conservatorium for 20 years. Amongst my students were James Morrison and Adrian Mears (not that they needed much teaching!)
• A variety of brass teaching jobs at school & beginner level.

Alexander Technique & NLP:

• In 1996 George completed his 3 year training as a teacher of the Alexander Techique (AT). His main tutor at the AT school was William Brenner, an expert at Neuro-Linguistic-Programming (NLP), who studied under John Grinder, one of the creators of NLP.
• George has been using the AT & NLP skills for teaching music and his own personal development.

Some Testimonials:

'George Brodbeck is one of the finest arrangers we have in Australia. His understanding of a broad range of musical and theatrical styles is without equal. His brilliant work on 'The Boy From Oz' and on the Opening Ceremony of the 15th Asian Games contributed enormously to their great success. He is a man of great sensitivity, integrity and generosity. I am in his debt.'

Max Lambert, Music Producer

'I have worked with George as a musician and even more as an orchestrator on several projects and have found his knowledge of style, attention to detail and the ability to extract the most colour from a group whether it's a large orchestra or a small combo absolutely world class. I trust him to implement my ideas and to add a creative flair of his own when required.'

Michael Tyack, Musical Director "The Boy From Oz"

'George has provided me with many excellent transcriptions and original arrangements for more than ten years. He is a thorough professional. The best musicians respect his work and his charts are of the highest quality. I would recommend him to anyone interested in big band or smaller frontline arrangements.'

Tom Burlinson, Frank - A Life In Song

'George Brodbeck and I go back a long way.......he is among the best, both as a player and an arranger.'

Don Burrows, Jazz Musician