Tarleton advances to National Trumpet Competition for second year

Advertisement

 

STEPHENVILLE (February 3, 2017) — For the second straight year, Tarleton State University’s trumpet ensemble has advanced to the prestigious National Trumpet Competition (NTC).

Tarleton’s ensemble—five student musicians—will compete against 29 other colleges and universities March 22-25, at Metropolitan State University in Denver, Colo., marking only the second time any Tarleton music ensemble has advanced to the final round of a national competition.

Led by assistant professor of trumpet Dr. Brian Walker, the ensemble will perform “Contrasts for Five Trumpets” by Anthony Plog. Student ensemble members are junior music education major Akira Okamoto of Frisco, Texas; junior music education major Tim Wilson of Midlothian, Texas; junior music education major Tember Lowe and senior music performance major Matt Daigle both of Dickson, Okla.; and senior music education major Olivia Perkins of Denison, Texas.

A panel of professional trumpet players selected the Tarleton ensemble in December based on an unedited video of their performance. Tarleton made the final cut of the top 30 performers out of more than 100 entries. Tarleton’s undergraduate ensemble will compete against other teams made up of graduate and doctoral students. Tarleton is also the only Division II school represented at this year’s NTC.


Members of Tarleton State University’s trumpet ensemble include (l-r) Tim Wilson, Akira Okamoto, Olivia Perkins, Matt Daigle and Tember Lowe. The ensemble is under the direction of Dr. Brian Walker (far right), assistant professor of trumpet.

Among the universities represented at the 2017 NTC are Arizona, Michigan, Kentucky, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Texas Tech, New England Conservatory of Music and South Carolina.

“Tarleton’s trumpet ensemble will compete against ensembles from music schools whose reputations are world-class,” Walker explained. “It is an honor to be held in that regard and a wonderful opportunity for these Tarleton students to be heard on the same stage. These students who wish to pursue a graduate degree have a stage to be noticed by these excellent programs as well. It’s truly a unique opportunity.”

For more about bands and select ensembles at Tarleton, visit www.tarleton.edu/band.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.