Title Notes from Faraway Places Suite 1 (I. Krems, Austria – II. Richmond, Virginia – III. Delaware Water Gap, Penn.) For Unaccompanied Trumpet By David Sampson Biographical Info David Sampson is a trumpet player, teacher and composer living in New Jersey. He has made considerable contributions to 20th and 21st Century trumpet literature by composing more than fifteen works featuring the trumpet as well as works for wind...

Title Paths (1994) In Memoriam Witold Lutoslawski for Trumpet Toru Takemitsu (1931-1996) Biographical Info Toru Takemitsu was a self-taught Japanese composer who combined elements of Eastern and Western music and philosophy to create a unique sound world. Some of his early influences were the sonorities of Debussy, and Messiaen’s use of nature imagery and modal scales. There is a certain influence of Webern in Takemitsu’s use of...

Title Eight Profiles (1980) For Solo Trumpet VIII – To J. B. Fisher Tull (1934-1994) Biographical Info Fisher Tull was born in Waco, Texas.  He received his musical training at North Texas State University.  When Dr. Tull originally went to NTSU he was assistant to John Haynie as a trumpet teacher and as a staff arranger for the renowned NTSU Lab Bands.   After He graduated in 1957 he went to Sam Houston State University as...

Title Eight Profiles (1980) For Solo Trumpet VII – To C. D. Fisher Tull (1934-1994) Biographical Info Fisher Tull was born in Waco, Texas.  He received his musical training at North Texas State University.  When Dr. Tull originally went to NTSU he was assistant to John Haynie as a trumpet teacher and as a staff arranger for the renowned NTSU Lab Bands.   After He graduated in 1957 he went to Sam Houston State University as...

Title Eight Profiles (1980) For Solo Trumpet VI – To D. O. Fisher Tull (1934-1994) Biographical Info Fisher Tull was born in Waco, Texas.  He received his musical training at North Texas State University.  When Dr. Tull originally went to NTSU he was assistant to John Haynie as a trumpet teacher and as a staff arranger for the renowned NTSU Lab Bands.   After He graduated in 1957 he went to Sam Houston State University as...

Title Eight Profiles (1980) For Solo Trumpet V – To M. G. Fisher Tull (1934-1994) Biographical Info Fisher Tull was born in Waco, Texas.  He received his musical training at North Texas State University.  When Dr. Tull originally went to NTSU he was assistant to John Haynie as a trumpet teacher and as a staff arranger for the renowned NTSU Lab Bands.   After He graduated in 1957 he went to Sam Houston State University as...

Title Eight Profiles (1980) For Solo Trumpet IV – To L. N. Fisher Tull (1934-1994) Biographical Info Fisher Tull was born in Waco, Texas.  He received his musical training at North Texas State University.  When Dr. Tull originally went to NTSU he was assistant to John Haynie as a trumpet teacher and as a staff arranger for the renowned NTSU Lab Bands.   After He graduated in 1957 he went to Sam Houston State University as...

Title Eight Profiles (1980) For Solo Trumpet III – To R. M. Fisher Tull (1934-1994) Biographical Info Fisher Tull was born in Waco, Texas.  He received his musical training at North Texas State University.  When Dr. Tull originally went to NTSU he was assistant to John Haynie as a trumpet teacher and as a staff arranger for the renowned NTSU Lab Bands.   After He graduated in 1957 he went to Sam Houston State University as...

Title Eight Profiles (1980) For Solo Trumpet II – To J. S. Fisher Tull (1934-1994) Biographical Info Fisher Tull was born in Waco, Texas.  He received his musical training at North Texas State University.  When Dr. Tull originally went to NTSU he was assistant to John Haynie as a trumpet teacher and as a staff arranger for the renowned NTSU Lab Bands.   After He graduated in 1957 he went to Sam Houston State University as...

Title Eight Profiles (1980) For Solo Trumpet I – To R. F. Fisher Tull (1934-1994) Biographical Info Fisher Tull was born in Waco, Texas.  He received his musical training at North Texas State University.  When Dr. Tull originally went to NTSU he was assistant to John Haynie as a trumpet teacher and as a staff arranger for the renowned NTSU Lab Bands.   After He graduated in 1957 he went to Sam Houston State University as...

Title Andante et Allegro Guy Ropartz (1864-1955) Biographical Info Composer Joseph Guy Marie Ropartz Joseph Guy Ropartz enjoyed a lifespan that cut across an enormous territory of French music; when he was born, Jacques Offenbach had just premiered La belle Hélène and the year he died, Henri Dutilleux rolled out his second symphony. Ropartz also achieved an astounding rite of passage in his own work, starting out deep inside the Franck...

Title Rondo for Lifey (1959) Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) Biographical Info Leonard Bernstein enjoyed an illustrious career as a composer, conductor, educator and pianist. He will be best remembered for his contribution to the Broadway musical scene, his composition of scores for On the Town, Candide and West Side Story will live on long in the memory of all who hear them. As a conductor, after graduating from Harvard, he became the...

Title Legende (1906) For trumpet in C or Bb and piano George Enescu (1881-1955) Biographical Info He was born in the village of Liveni (later renamed “George Enescu” in his honor), Dorohoi County at the time, today Botoşani County. He showed musical talent from early in his childhood. A child prodigy, Enescu created his first musical composition at the age of five. Shortly thereafter, his father presented him to the professor...

Title Intrada (1947) For trumpet in C and piano Arthur Honegger (1892-1955) Biographical Info There is a website that has an exhaustive biography of Arthur Honegger. Below, I’ve included just the highlights. Arthur Honegger was a Swiss composer, who lived a large part of his life in Paris. He was a member of Les Six. His most frequently performed work is probably the orchestral work Pacific 2311, which imitates the sound of a steam...

Title Intrada (1958) For solo trumpet in C or Bb or Horn in F Otto Ketting (1935) Biographical Info The son of a composer, Ketting studied trumpet at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague and composition with his father. He played trumpet in the Hague Residentie-Orkest for seven years, before quitting for further composition study with Karl Amadeus Hartmann in Munich. Writing from a modernist perspective that takes in tonality and atonality...

Title Tromba Solo Ketil Hvoslef b.1939 Biographical Info Ketil Hvoslef studied the viola and organ at the Music Conservatory in Bergen Norway, from which he graduated as an organist.  He later taught ear training and theory at that Conservatory.  His music is difficult to classify because it differs with each piece.  His style has evolved from an almost new-classical mode of expression to an intensely personal musical language,...

Title Festive Arias for Mezzo-soprano, trumpet and piano Volumes 1 & 2 Arranged by David Cooper Biographical Info Festive Arias vol. 1 Trumpet player, teacher and arranger David Cooper has selected five of the most popular arias for soprano/mezzo-soprano and arranged them to include trumpet parts. The arias include: “Alleluja” from Exsultate, Jubilate by W.A.Mozart “Laudamus te” from Mass in C minor by Mozart  Audio clip: Adobe...

Title L’Histoire du Soldat (A Soldier’s Tale) Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) Biographical Info The Soldier’s Tale comes from 1918, a lean post-war time when jazz was just beginning to emerge into the mainstream. Stravinsky was broke, deprived of his royalties because of the Revolution, and his other source of income, Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes was also going through lean times. Stravinsky invented a new style, pared down to...

Title Six Suites of Canonic Duets By Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) Adapted for trumpet by David Cooper Biographical Info Georg Philipp Telemann was a German composer, born in Magdeburg.  He was the most prolific composer in history and a contemporary of J.S.Bach, Vivaldi and a lifelong friend of G.F.Handel.  While presently Bach is generally considered the greater composer, Telemann was more widely renowned for his musical abilities...

Title Miniatures for solo trumpet (©1977) by George Andrix published by SeeSaw Music Corp. – which is now Subito Music Biographical Info George Andrix was born June 15, 1932. He began the study of the violin at the age of five (5) in his native Chicago. As a youngster, he attended the Chicago Musical College and Lane Technical High School where he received training in violin, music theory, and orchestral and chamber music...

Title Variation Movements for Trumpet (1967) by Robert Henderson Biographical Info Robert Henderson’s remarkably productive career began before he reached college age and has expanded without pause since then. He was three years old when his father gave him his first violin lessons. When he reached his teens he added piano and horn to the instruments he played, and began studying composition and theory with Donal Michalsky. By the...

Title Shazam for trumpet solo (1984) By Folke Rabe Biographical Info Folke Rabe born 1935: ‘A portrait of Folke Rabe,’ as Goran Bergendal has wittily observed, ‘would be made up of one composer (or two or even three), a couple of trombone players (jazz trombone and member of the Culture Quartet), one actor (the New Culture Quartet), one teacher (the Sound Workshops, which helped people to find their ears), several administrators...

Title Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra Johann Friedrich Fasch, 1688-1758 Scored for 2 oboes, solo trumpet, strings, and continuo Biographical Info Johann Friedrich Fasch is an example of that all-too-common phenomenon in music, the forgotten innovator. A contemporary of Bach (1685-1750), Fasch was a prolific Baroque composer, writing among other things over 90 suites, 16 masses, 4 operas, 61 concertos, and 19 symphonies. He was well...

Title Call for Solo Trumpet (2003) By James Stephenson Biographical Info Jim has composed a considerable amount of fantastic material for trumpet; sonatas, concerti, etude books, chamber music and unaccompanied solos.  I have heard that he has even composed music that involves instruments other than the trumpet.  I know … hard to believe, but you can find a complete listing of his compositions and arrangements here.  His website, by...

Title Litany of Breath For Unaccompanied Trumpet By David Sampson Biographical Info David Sampson is a trumpet player, teacher and composer living in New Jersey.  He has made considerable contributions to 20th and 21st Century trumpet literature by composing more than fifteen works featuring the trumpet as well as works for wind ensemble, brass ensembles of various instrumentation and choirs.  Further biographical information on David...

Title Solo For unaccompanied flugel horn or Bb trumpet by David Sampson Biographical Info David Sampson (b. 1951, Charlottesville, Virginia) has emerged as one of the truly unique voices of his generation achieving rapidly growing attention from major orchestras, soloists and ensembles.  He holds degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music, Hunter College, Manhattan School of Music, and the Ecoles d’ Art Americaines, where his teachers...

Title Fantasia for Solo Trumpet (2008) By Lauren Bernofsky Biographical Info Although Lauren Bernofsky was trained as a violinist, she has contributed a substantial amount to the brass repertory.  Her list of compositions can be found here. The Fantasia for solo trumpet was commissioned by John W. Cain. Suggested Equipment Lauren composed this for Bb or C trumpet.  Except for the high E at the very end I prefer to play this on C...

Title Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra For Bb or C trumpet and piano (1996) By John Williams Biographical Info “Given a background of playing trombone and trumpet as a teen, and after writing so much brass music for films and for ceremonial pieces, you can imagine my pleasure when the Cleveland Orchestra asked me to write a concerto for their newly appointed principal trumpeter, Michael Sachs.  Not only did this commission offer me an...

Title Unaccompanied Suites originally for Cello Johann Sebastian Bach Edited and Arranged by David Cooper Biographical Info Bach composed the cello suites while he was employed at the court of Cöthen (1717-1723) as capellmeister and director of chamber music.  At this time, he devoted his efforts to instrumental music in which he set up perfect models and guides to professional musicians, advanced students, and music lovers. The six...

I’m going to break from the norm of this site for a moment and offer up a musical selection.  I know this may not be following the educational and informational direction of this blog but I came across this mp3 the other day and just thought I would share it. The Setup A few years ago saxophonist Tom Gullion, called some musicians together to play on a recording project of his.  The night before the recording session I happen to have a...

Title Sonata no.1 “The Tempest” For C trumpet and piano By David Gillingham Biographical Info The first sonata of David Gillingham bears the nickname, “The Tempest” because of the stormy and turbulent nature of the first movement, the somber aftermath of the second movement and the whirlwind drive of the third. Suggested Equipment C trumpet is preferred because of the extreme endurance demands.  There are also technical...

Title Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra (1997) By Lauren Bernofsky Piano reduction by the composer (2001) Biographical Info Although Lauren Bernofsky was trained as a violinist, she has contributed a substantial amount to the brass repertory.  Among these pieces is her Trumpet Concerto (1997), a full-length work cast in the traditional formal plan of the classical concerto, but in a more modern tonal language. The piano reduction premier...

Title Aria con Variazioni For Bb trumpet/cornet and piano By G. F. Handel (trans. Bernard Fitzgerald) Biographical Info Aria con Variazioni began life as one of Handel’s many works for solo keyboard; specifically his 5th Harpsichord Suite.  Bernard Fitzgerald was a pioneer in transcribing music for brass instruments, primarily trumpet.  Our repertoire has increased tremendously thanks to his work.  This piece is no exception.  It...

Title The Burden of Destiny For Bb or C trumpet and piano By James Stephenson Biographical Info Burden of Destiny was written for Chris Martin, the principal trumpet of the Chicago Symphony.  James Stephenson relocated to Chicago about the same time as Chris’ appointment and wanted to write a relatively serious piece that would represent the new Chicago ties both of them now have.  Much inspiration was drawn from Carl Sandburg’s poem,...

Title Prayer of St. Gregory By Alan Hovhaness, op. 62b Peer International Ed. Biographical Info Alan Hovhaness, of Armenian and Scottish descent, was born in Somerville, Massachusetts, on March 8, 1911. He began composing as soon as he could read music, at the age of four – a spontaneous act which seems to have had about it the inevitability of an unquestioned law of nature.  His output is vast as indeed are the giant melodies which...

Title Rustiques for Cornet in Bb or Trumpet in C or Bb and Piano by Eugène Bozza Biographical Info Eugène Bozza (1905-1991) has been for many decades not only one of France’s most prolific composers but, like Hindemith and Stevens, a great boon to woodwind and brass players.  His hundreds of solo and recital works have involved virtually every known instrument and instrumental combination, from consort pieces for three bassoons, six...