COVID-19 has taken away work from so many trumpeters. But it has also given to the trumpet community many fabulous videos from the practice rooms of so many trumpet greats. Here are some of my favorites:

Jim Wilt, Associate Principal Trumpet of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and teacher at the Colburn School, has recorded a new etude every day from his practice room. The unaffected mastery he brings to each etude is astounding. He tries to never edit for bad notes. Here an example of Jim’s playing on Charlier’s Etude No. 1 (I would embed this video, but this feature has been disabled–please watch on YouTube).

Jack Burt, Associate Professor at the University of Maine School of Performing Arts, has also been very productive, recording most of his performances on Schagerl trumpets. Here’s a lovely Wurm study.

Principal trumpeter of the San Diego Symphony, Chris Smith, has been a very consistent uploader of trumpet etudes. Here’s his split-screen recording of Benjamin Britten’s Fanfare for St. Edmundsbury.

One of my personal friends and trumpet instructor at Sonoma State University, Daniel Gianola-Norris, has been a champion of many unusual pieces, underrepresented composers, and a versatile arranger and composer. Here, he performs a piece from Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress on trumpet and flute.

This video, arranged and performed on keyed trumpets and natural trumpets by Stian Aareskiold, has stood out as one of the most incredible of the last year.

But perhaps this video of “A Hope for the Future” was one of the most touching ones–recorded to bring attention to our healthcare workers and including one of the last performances of my friend Ryan Anthony (along with 31 other amazing trumpeters).

 

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