Maxwell Trombley is a Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) student in choral conducting at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), where he studies with Joe Miller and Brett Scott. A versatile musician, he maintains an active career as a professional vocalist, performing internationally and with major American orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and New World Symphony, among others. He is a 2025–2026 VOCES8 US Scholar and has performed with Seraphic Fire through its Early Artist Program. His festival appearances include a Chorus Fellowship at Spoleto Festival USA and an invited residency at the Bay View Music Festival.

Trombley's research centers on the revival and performance of music by the 19th-century Puerto Rican composer Felipe Gutiérrez y Espinosa. A 2024 Field Research Grant from the University of Miami's Institute for Advanced Study of the Americas supported travel and archival research in San Juan, and a Presser Foundation Graduate Music Award is funding the recording and distribution of an album of Gutiérrez's music. In addition to this research, he was named a semi-finalist for the 2025–2026 Fulbright U.S. Student Program for a proposed project in choral conducting in the United Kingdom.

A dedicated educator, Trombley taught secondary choral music in Michigan public schools for four years, leading ensembles that consistently earned top ratings at state festivals and toured nationally. He served the Michigan School Vocal Music Association (MSVMA) by coordinating state honors choirs and solo and ensemble events, and he has presented at professional conferences across the country, including the American Choral Directors Association National Conference and state conferences in Florida, Michigan, and Ohio.

Trombley earned a Master of Music in choral conducting from Western Michigan University, where he studied with Amanda Quist, following initial graduate study at the Frost School of Music. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education from Eastern Michigan University. He served as the 2025–2026 Choral Conducting Fellow with the Cincinnati May Festival and as Director of Music at First Congregational Church in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He is a member of the summer voice faculty at Interlochen Center for the Arts.