Charles Reneau, bass trombone, joined the Oregon Symphony in 2007. He has also performed with the Seattle Symphony, the Seattle Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, the Israel Philharmonic, the Atlanta Symphony, and the orchestras of Macon, Chattanooga, Birmingham, Augusta, and Spokane. Recent summer festival performances include the Oregon Bach Festival, Chamber Music Northwest, and Sunriver Music Festival. Before joining the Oregon Symphony, Charles played for one season with the Honolulu Symphony.
He is a winner of the International Trombone Association’s Donald Yaxley Bass Trombone Competition, and the Zellmer Trombone Competition sponsored by the Minnesota Orchestra; he is also a two-time winner of the U.S. Army Band’s Bass Trombone Solo Competition. Charles holds a B.M. from the University of Georgia and his M.M. from The Juilliard School in New York.
Charles has taught privately since 2002, and at Portland State University since 2009. Additionally, he coaches sectionals for the Portland Youth Philharmonic and teaches at the Brass @ Wallowa Lake music camp in eastern Oregon. Charles' students participate in the Oregon All-State Band and Orchestra, Portland Youth Philharmonic, and Metropolitan Youth Symphony. They have won the Oregon State Activities Association’s State Solo Competition and received scholarships at top schools including Northwestern, Columbia, Central Washington University, and the University of Oregon.
Charley is a skier, mountain biker, backpacker, mountaineer, and backyard orchardist.