A North Carolina native, Jordan Shirtz began his musical journey on trombone much like many others—after discovering the instrument he originally wanted was already taken. What started as a reluctant compromise became a lasting commitment to emotional expression through musical collaboration. Known for his versatility on alto, tenor, and bass trombone, as well as sackbut, Jordan performs a wide-ranging repertoire that bridges historical and contemporary traditions.
Jordan has performed with the Salisbury Symphony, Trade Street Brass, the National Music Festival Orchestra, Watson Brass Band, and ensembles at both UNC–Chapel Hill and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA). His collaborative projects include a performance with the Choir of King’s College London through the UNC Sackbut Ensemble, participation in the Durham Medical Orchestra Trombone Choir conducted by Joseph Alessi, and a comedy segment with T.J. Miller.
In 2024, Jordan premiered Carolina Romp by Luke Coker and will give the U.S. premiere of Friedrich Cerha’s Otto Fogli in 2026—a work originally written for Walter Voglmayr, principal trombonist of the Vienna Symphony, with whom Jordan studied during his semester abroad in Austria in 2023. He has performed under the direction of Richard Rosenberg, Matthew Kraemer, Kevin Noe, Chelsea Tipton, Michelle Merrill, Tõnu Kalam, and Evan Harger and participated in masterclasses with James Miller, Los Angeles Philharmonic; Devin Drinnan, North Carolina Symphony; and Ron Westray, formerly of Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Jordan’s distinctions include the Kenan Music Scholarship at UNC, the Benjamin Swalin Orchestra Award, the Mayo Brown Undergraduate Research Grant, and the UNCSA Trombone Studio Graduate Assistantship. In addition to performing, he serves as an Archival Assistant in the UNCSA Archives, supporting the preservation and research of institutional collections. His recent archival work includes processing the Clarion Wind Quintet Collection, a library of over 150 chamber compositions commissioned or collected by the first faculty woodwind quintet at UNCSA. He is currently engaged in processing and recataloging the UNCSA Archives’ audio and visual media collection, which comprises over 1,500 items.
Jordan earned his Bachelor of Music degree from UNC–Chapel Hill, where he studied with Michael Kris. He is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts under the guidance of John Ilika and lives in Salisbury, North Carolina, with his partner Chloe, their cat Biscuit, and their dog Doodle.