Willem de Koch

Willem de Koch is a trombonist, composer, educator, and arts activist. He is co-founder of The Westerlies, the new music brass quartet whose explorations of jazz, chamber music, and American folk have received praise from the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, NPR Music and NPR Fresh Air, and Downbeat. He has performed and recorded with artists across the musical spectrum, including Big Red Machine (Aaron Dessner + Bon Iver), Fleet Foxes, Odesza, Common, Feist, Wayne Horvitz, Bill Frisell, Dave Douglas, George Duke, and Wycliffe Gordon.

Willem has performed in a range of venues, from the world-renowned Carnegie Hall and Hollywood Bowl, to NPR’s celebrated Tiny Desk, to hole-in-the-wall jazz clubs and living rooms around the United States. He strives to break down the barriers of genre in order to create a more integrated and inclusive musical landscape, build community and promote civic engagement through music, and use music education as means of self-empowerment and a tool for social justice. 

Willem is a faculty member at the College of Performing Arts at The New School in New York City.