BIOGRAPHY
Hayden Lee Woods, born June 28, 1992, is a Bozeman, Montana native who graduated from Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming in 2012. He attended Montana State University-Bozeman from 2012 to 2014 before stepping down to pursue management positions in restaurants in Belgrade. Even while working, he continued music as a hobby and began composing and arranging on the side. Though he found success in the restaurant industry, the pursuit of performing music came back to the forefront, resulting in his return to the One O’clock Jazz band in the fall of 2016. Early 2017, the decision to return to school was made and the plan was set in order to graduate in the spring 2018 semester. Since then, he has been a private educator.
His past work includes involvement with the jazz bands of Northwest College, where he attained an Associate of Arts in May of 2012. In the two separate runs at Montana State University (2012-2014, 2017-2018), his performance experience includes a semester in the MSU Symphony Orchestra (Fall 2013), One O’clock Jazz Band (2013-2014, 2016-2018 as a student and a community member), Bridger Brass Quintet (2017-2018), and various other groups. He graduated on May 5, 2018 with a Bachelor of Arts in Music.
Professionally, Hayden is a member of the Bridger Mountain Big Band as the bass trombonist and one of the leaders. His time in the Bozeman Municipal Band has had multiple roles, which included low brass leader until 2024, and more recently as a conductor. Work in the BMB also included a 100th Season commission titled "Gallatin Suite". In Montana TheaterWorks, he is a consistent trombonist for multiple productions, most recently Meredith Wilson's The Music Man.
As an educator, Hayden travels across the valley teaching students one-on-one in their homes and has become an in-demand teacher of multiple instruments (trombone/trumpet/euphonium/piano/guitar/theory) and has been working with small groups on group guitar classes. Future projects include online lessons and a video series on jazz trombonists.
In his spare time, he keeps his culinary skills sharp to the delight of his fiancé and is a fanatic of all things cats and dogs.
Current and recent projects/ensembles include:
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Montana Theaterworks - Trombone (*tba winter 2026* The Music Man Summer 2026, Annie! Winter 2024, Mary Poppins Summer 2024, Fiddler on the Roof 2023, Sound of Music 2022, Damn Yankees 2019, White Christmas 2018)
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Bridger Mountain Big Band - Bass Trombone
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Bozeman Municipal Band - Conductor (rotating)