Kris Garfitt is the winner of the first prize at the International ARD Music Competition in Munich, Courtois performer and soloist of the WDR Symphony Orchestra. Also, it is 2019. Royal Overseas League Music Competition London Gold Medalist, 2019 Jeju International Music Competition 2018 International Tenor and Bass Trombone Competition in Budapest, 2018. Wind and percussion instruments competition in Vilnius and 2019. Winner of the International IPV trombone competition in Germany.
in 2015 he graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London with first class honours. While studying at the Guildhall, he took regular lessons with Eric Crees, Peter Gane and Christopher Houlding, and later with Fabrice Millischer of the Freiburg School of Music and Guilhem Kusnierek of the Hochschule for Music Saar.
Since 2016 until 2020 Kris worked as a member of the German Radio Philharmonic, and from 2021 is the trombonist soloist of the WDR Symphony Orchestra. In addition to regular concerts with his own orchestra, he frequently performs as guest solo trombonist with many of Europe's leading orchestras, such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. He was fortunate to be a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra and the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester and toured the world extensively, performing at venues such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Royal Albert Hall in London, the Salzburg Festival, the Hamburg Elphilharmonie, the Semperoper in Dresden, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Rudolfinum in Prague, the Teatro Alla Scala in Milan and Seoul Arts Center and performs at festivals such as The BBC Proms and Salzburger Festspiele.
Along with his orchestral career, Kris also manages to maintain a busy schedule as a solo musician. He has performed many times as a soloist with such professional ensembles as the Bayerische Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra, the Munich Chamber Orchestra, the Vilnius City Chamber Orchestra, the Budapest String Chamber Orchestra, the Jeju Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra Di Padova e del Veneto and the Luxembourg Orchestra. in 2016 Kris felt an interest and love for trombone solo literature, so he formed a duo with the outstanding Korean pianist Seri Dan. Together they perform regularly throughout Germany and around the world. They also plan to release their first album in 2022.
Kris also regularly consults trombonists of all levels privately and in masterclasses. Since 2016 he is a brass teacher at Sheffield City Youth Orchestra.
