Trumpet Studio Information
Dr. Tunnell Pictured with UofL Trumpet Students
I am so proud of my student, Patrick Henry Hughes, and I encourage you to visit his website at www.patrickhenryhughes.com. Here is (left to right): Patrick John Hughes, Patrick Henry Hughes, and me.
We're pleased to have a very talented student:
Don Johnson III won in the high school Baroque Division at the National Trumpet Competition held near Washington D.C. Don is currently the principal trumpeter in the Louisville Youth Orchestra and was also the principal trumpeter in the orchestra last year. In his four years of high school he has been 1st chair all four years. He was lead trumpet in the Allstate Jazz as a freshman, junior, and a senior. He was 1st chair principal trumpet in the Allstate Orchestra when he was a sophomore. He has played lead trumpet for the Jazz Arts Foundation's Youth Jazz Band in Lexington Ky. for 4 years under the direction of John Richardson. Don was a semifinalist in the NTC as a sophomore, a finalist as a junior, and won in the Baroque Division as a senior. He came in the top 4 in the International Trumpet Guild Competition as a junior. Don lives in Marion County Ky. and goes to Marion County High School.
Fabio
Brum, senior trumpet major, competed in the 2002 Tromp Musiek Biennale
Trumpet Competition last October. He was one of 20 participants and one
of only three students studying in American Schools.
The University of Louisville School of Music offers many wonderful opportunities for trumpet performance. Our ensembles include Symphonic Band, Concert Band, Orchestra, Jazz Bands and Combos, Contemporary Ensemble, and Brass Quintets. In addition, we offer Trumpet Ensemble which I conduct, and weekly Master Classes dealing with solo, orchestral, and band repertoire, as well as with general approaches to playing the trumpet. Degrees offered by the School of Music include the BA, BM, BME, MAT, MM, and MME.
The University of Louisville is located in the heart of Kentucky’s largest city, and is home to more than 21,000 students and proudly claims more than 80,000 living alumni. The thriving arts climate in Louisville supports numerous performing organizations, from theater to dance. Musical organizations in Louisville include the world-renowned Louisville Orchestra, the Louisville Bach Society, the Kentucky Opera Association, and the Chamber Music Society, as well as numerous community bands and orchestras.
I hope that you will come visit us so that we can meet and talk, and so that I will have the opportunity to hear you play. If you have questions, do not hesitate to write to me at University of Louisville School of Music, Louisville, KY 40292, or to call at (502) 852-7857 (studio) or e-mail me. If you wish to receive an application and/or financial aid forms contact the School of Music Admissions Director at (502) 852-1623 or 800-334-UOFL, ext. 1623.
Sergei Nakariakov pictured with U of L trumpet students at an informal session with the trumpeters. (February 2003)
Teaching Philosophy
I am currently in my thirty-second year of teaching trumpet (my twentieth at the University of Louisville School of Music). It is my desire to provide both technical and artistic information to students. Part of the joy in teaching trumpet and music is that one can often see a transformation and development with students that perhaps do not exist in every discipline. Music contains an intensely personal and humanistic quality that goes beyond cerebral learning.
Two goals are at the core of my teaching philosophy:
1. To help the student develop the requisite skills on the trumpet, through technical and physical development, with the long-range goal of developing a student’s ability to successfully pursue a career of teaching and/or performing.
2. To help the student become the best musician that he or she can be, in order to be able to bring his or her soul into each performance on the trumpet, and to help the student learn to tell a story, paint a picture, and create a mood – in essence, to use his or her musicianship skills to communicate the language of the music they are performing.
When accepting a new trumpeter into my studio I look for several factors. I look for physical and technical ability, musicianship, and the sense of desire or motivation to learn. I take an inventory of the prospective student’s strengths and weaknesses as an essential measuring factor in making a decision to accept the student.
I take an individualized approach to each student. Every student is different, and I believe in tailoring a curriculum to fit the pedagogical needs of the specific player. All students should work on the basics within the curriculum, but the specific technical and musical emphasis changes from student to student. Some students need an artistic approach with a significant amount of musical demonstration, and these students seem to learn best by visual and aural observation. Other students take a more scientific or analytical approach to learning, and benefit from verbal explanation and the use of their problem solving skills.
Learning and practicing the various technical exercises on a daily basis is certainly fundamental to progress as a player, but musical considerations cannot be made secondary. Lyricism, phrasing, beauty of tone and communication through the musical line is too often neglected for the sake of “higher, faster and louder.” Frequently, the young player is deficient in the softer and more introspective areas of brass playing; the entire spectrum of dynamics and range should be developed with equal care, which will then equip the player with the ability to effectively communicate any musical idea, whether it be a fortissimo declamatory fanfare or a pianissimo sustained legato line.
Music can be thought of as a language, which must be learned much in the same manner as early speech patterns are developed. It is imperative that we never forget the “song” when playing the instrument. Keeping matters simple by focusing on singing through the trumpet, even during the most complex passage work, just as one does when playing a simple tune in daily practice, will help the player to communicate ideas through the instrument. If you can hear it, you can play it.
Artists
Since 1988, the following brass/trumpet artists have performed and/or presented Master Classes at the University of Louisville:
- American Brass Quintet
- Clifford Blackburn
- Stacy Blair
- Terrance Blanchard
- Steve Bottom
- Randy Brecker
- Ed Carroll
- Phil Collins
- Allan Cox
- Allen Dean
- Vince Di Martino
- Terry Everson
- Art Farmer
- Stanley Friedman
- Armando Ghitalla
- Amy Gilreath
- Pat Harbison
- Tim Hudson
- Larry Johansen
- Stephen Jones
- H.M. Lewis
- Wynton Marsalis
- Gordon Mathie
- Andrew McCandless
- Paul Merkelo
- Ron Modell
- Sergei Nakariakov
- Nicolas Payton
- Crispian Steele-Perkins
- Steve Plank
- Tony Plog
- John Rommel
- Susan Ryder
- Michael Sachs
- Bernie Sanchez
- Ed Sandor
- John Schlabach
- David Scott
- Bobby Shew
- Alan Siebert
- Stacy Simpson
- Lew Soloff
- Phil Smith
- Marie Speziale
- Terell Stafford
- Richard Steuart
- St. Louis Brass Quintet
- Summit Brass
- Clark Terry
- Scott Thornburg
- James Thompson
