Category: Diversity
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A second interview with Elisa Koehler, tireless researcher of the trumpet
Known for her versatility and probing musicianship, Elisa Koehler is a trumpeter, conductor, and author with professional experience as both a soloist and an ensemble musician. Currently Chair of the Music Department and Professor of Music at Winthrop University, she was previously Professor of Music and the Director of the Center for Dance, Music, and…
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Interview with Ashley Killam, entrepreneur and diversity-minded trumpeter
Ashley Killam (she/her) is an international speaker, trumpet player, educator, and researcher. Ashley is the co-founder of Diversify the Stand, a resource centered around learning from underrepresented voices in music and commissioning works to build a musical repertoire. She has presented her lecture series, Fanfare for the Unheard, to high schools and colleges across the…
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The best consolation–music of Adolphus Hailstork
Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and this great man said, “Music is the best consolation for a despaired man.” There are not many African-American classical composers. And of those who wrote for the trumpet, very few. I am familiar with the great Ulysses Kay, who wrote Tromba for trumpet and piano and Three Fanfares…
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Zoom clinicians
Since the global COVID-19 pandemic hit us in 2020, trumpet teachers have shifted almost exclusively to virtual lessons and clinics. This has had the negative effect of not being able to listen directly to students’ tones (and, of course, students’ audio equipment and the fickle sound quality of Zoom has not helped). But a great…
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Black History Month: Francis B. Johnson
Born in 1792, black trumpeter Francis (Frank) Johnson led an amazing career centered in Philadelphia. With more than 300 compositions to his credit, most of them published, he was the most popular black composer before the Civil War. His band was in great demand for cotillion balls and marches. In fact, just about everything he did…