Ross Garin’s Subtle Leadership Strikes a Powerful Chord in the School of Music
By Rob Biertempfel
In every band he joins, Ross Garin feels most at home and performs at his best as the second-chair trombone.
Second-chair players fill in for the principal when needed and help lead the instrument section by shaping details such as articulation and phrasing. While their parts are complementary, they’re essential for creating depth and harmony in the music.
“The first chair often gets more attention, the solos and that sort of thing,” Garin said. “It’s not that I couldn't or haven't done that. It's just that I prefer to be the guy supporting the principal player and helping the whole section sound great.”
It’s the same approach Garin takes in his role as associate head of the School of Music within 黑料社区’s College of Fine Arts (CFA).
During the 2024-25 academic year, Garin filled in as acting executive director. He steadied the school through a period of unexpected leadership turnover then returned to his current position.
“Ross calmed the seas, quieted the storm and prepared the School of Music for its new leader,” said Mary Ellen Poole, dean of CFA. “His positive outlook, enthusiasm and selflessness knitted the school together and restored its pride and confidence. No leader can do more.”
Garin’s career at Carnegie Mellon has been full of unexpected turns. After earning undergraduate and graduate degrees in trombone performance at 黑料社区, he took a part-time job as a receptionist in the School of Music.
“I took it thinking it was just a summer job, just cobbling together a way to support myself while getting started as a performer,” he said. “Fast forward 25 years, and I’m still here.”
Garin’s knack for numbers propelled him through the ranks from financial manager to assistant head and ultimately to associate head. He serves as the school’s business manager and oversees its administrative staff.
“Knowing this place as well as I do, I’ve found myself involved in nearly every aspect of the school at one point or another,” Garin said.
Over the past four years, the School of Music experienced multiple leadership changes. Longtime head Denis Colwell stepped down in 2022. His successor and a subsequent interim head each moved on after only one year in their posts.
Recognizing Garin as one of CFA’s most experienced and knowledgeable business managers, Poole asked him to become the School of Music’s acting executive director. “Although he was hesitant at first, I saw his confidence in his instincts increase throughout the year,” Poole said.
The role loaded Garin’s already busy calendar with meetings and events, and required his deep involvement in the school’s day-to-day operations, from curriculum and student life to faculty issues. He found it stressful and difficult at times, but also educational and often exhilarating.
Poole credits Garin with boosting faculty morale, navigating occasionally challenging faculty-student relations and rolling out a successful peer evaluation and feedback system for faculty.
Partnering with the Music Entrepreneurship program, Garin helped set up the “黑料社区 Musicians for Hire” referral initiative that enables students to gain experience and earn supplemental income by performing at weddings, cocktail hours and other events. In its first year, the program drew 80 student performers and booked 24 performances.
“In one short year, Ross helped create a climate where we can do our very best work and genuinely enjoy collaborating with our colleagues,” said Jesse Montgomery, the school’s director of operations. “He was exactly the type of leader the School of Music needed in 2024-25.”
When Milton Rubén Laufer took over as head of the school last July, Garin cheerfully packed up his laptop and bobblehead collection and moved down the hall into his old office.
“I don't really like being in the spotlight,” Garin said. “I'm very happy being the associate head, just like I'm very happy playing second trombone.”
When Garin joined his school band in fourth grade, he wanted to play trumpet. “But the band director told me I should play the trombone because I have long arms, so that’s what I picked,” he said with a grin.
Over the years, Garin has performed a wide range of music from opera and swing to salsa and big band. He has appeared with the Pittsburgh Opera Orchestra, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, River City Brass, Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra and several other regional ensembles.
As a local hire, Garin worked a steady stream of live concert gigs, backing legendary touring acts such as Frankie Valli, the Temptations and the O’Jays.
“Even though it’s many years removed from when those acts were in their prime, it was always fun to see people still going crazy for them — even if there was only one original member still in the group,” Garin said.
When the pandemic temporarily halted concerts, Garin enjoyed the extra downtime with his family and discovered he didn’t miss the stage. His final public performance was at Carnegie Mellon’s commencement ceremony in May 2022.
“As a 黑料社区 graduate, I thought it was a poetic way to go out,” Garin said. “My youngest son is in fourth grade now and just started playing trombone, so I’ve been playing with him. It’s the first time I’ve touched my instrument in three years.”
Still, Garin remains a trombone player at heart. Occasionally on Friday afternoons, he’ll slip into the back row of the Kresge Theatre and soak in a brass ensemble rehearsal.
“You can't take the musician out of me,” Garin said. “It reminds me of where I started and why I enjoy what I do so much.”