Jarrod Briley

Principal

Jarrod Briley joined the Hartford Symphony Orchestra as Principal Tuba for his first season in 2022. A native of Beaufort, North Carolina, he began as a trumpet player at age 11 and switched to the tuba at age 15. Jarrod attended East Carolina University, earning a B.M. in Music Performance in 2018. He then attended Bard College for an Artist Diploma before joining The Orchestra Now, an orchestral training master’s program at Bard College, earning a M.M. in Critical, Curatorial, and Performance Studies. Along with the Hartford Symphony, Jarrod is principal tuba for the Cape Symphony Orchestra and the Des Moines Metro Opera, and has performed broadly across New England with groups such as the New Jersey Symphony, Albany Symphony, New Haven Symphony, and others.

Coupled with a busy schedule of orchestral playing, Jarrod is actively involved in chamber music and solo projects throughout the area, notably appearing as a soloist with the HSO Brass Quintet for the Hartford Symphony’s 2023/24 season opening concert. Education at multiple levels is a core tenet to his musical philosophy. He has been an instructor for the Hawthorne Caballeros Drum Corps, including during their 2020 World Championship season, and has also worked with the world class Blue Knights and Sacramento Mandarins drum and bugle corps. He is the Instructor of Tuba at Trinity College in Hartford and maintains an active studio of private students as well.

Jarrod’s primary teachers include Tom McCaslin, Derek Fenstermacher, Jarrod Williams, Marcus Rojas, Dustin Chilson, and Darryl Falls. He currently resides in New London, Connecticut with his wife Mackenzie and their dog Poppy, where they spend lots of time hiking, watching films, and testing new baking recipes.