Columbus’ population will increase by about 50 music enthusiasts next week. The Second annual Southeast Trombone Symposium will attract trombone students and professors from around the country.

Bradley Palmer, who teaches the instrument at Columbus State University’s Schwob School of Music, said there will be 32 participating students with the rest of the 50 made up of trombone professors and a handful of auditors.

He decided to cap the number of participants to 32, which will allow for a lot of one-on-one instruction and critiques.

He isn’t doing this alone. Student assistant Greg Brandt is a graduate student. He graduated from Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pa., last year. The other student assistant is CSU junior Trey English.

Brandt heard about CSU from a friend who had bought a CD recorded here called “Visions.”

“He came up to me with the CD and said, ‘You have got to listen to this.’”

Brandt was impressed with the quality of the performance and got in touch with Palmer. He will be one of the participants this year.

Twenty-eight participants are college students and four are high school students.

The five trombone faculty members, including Palmer, will serve as judges. The sixth judge will be the representative of the S.E. Shires Co., that makes trombones. There are 15 more trombone professors coming to conduct the master classes and lead rehearsals for the various ensembles.

The college professors will also perform in a concert.

“It’s fun,” Palmer said.

He’s really excited about the S.E. Shires Company’s involvement in the symposium. This year, the company is giving away two trombones. One will go to the winner of the solo competition and the other will go to the winner of the orchestral excerpts competition.

“It’s a great opportunity for us,” Palmer said. “This is the only festival where they give two instruments.”

Shires will have about 40 instruments for students to try. Local music fans will be glad that evening concerts are free and open to the public.