- National Trumpet Competition
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The National Trumpet Competition is an annual competition held at George Mason University. Trumpeters from all over the country come to George Mason around mid March to duke it out for the title of Best Trumpeter in their division.
Contents
The Instrument
The trumpet is a member of the brass family of instruments, which has been around since its first use in 2000 BC, later then evolved to be played for King Tut of Egypt. Around the beginning of the 19th century, the first valved trumpets that were made were the D, Eb, and G trumpets (as the descendant to the rotary trumpet made in the late 17th century). That, in effect, motivated composers to develop more lyrical, but technically difficult pieces because of the new trumpet's flexibility. At around the 19th to 20th century, the trumpet evolved further to many other keys, which were the Bb, Bb/A piccolo, C, and the rarely used Bass (for base clef). The trumpet is continued to be modified and improved, as inventors produced the shepherds' crook and the tuning slide, then today with customizable mouthpieces, bells, lead pipes, valves and slides, and engravings. As much as it was used as a solo instrument in the time of Haydn and Bach, it is considered generally nowadays as an orchestral instrument. But it is used for many different avocations, such as (professional) marching bands, jazz bands, weddings, school bands, and numerous others. Because of its flexibility, it can be modified to play in almost any key, suitable for any type of music played[1].
How People Apply
To apply, students from around the United States print out an application from the National Trumpet Competition Website. They must make a recording on a CD and send it in. There must be a piano accompaniment and the piece must be a published standard from the trumpet repertoire. They must also send in an application fee of $75 plus a $75 pianist fee. The CDs are reviewed and people are selected to come to George Mason University to compete in person[2]. Another option is to play in the Regional Trumpet Competition, which are held across many universities in the US. If won there, the participant has a "bye" to the semi-final round of the National Trumpet Competition, no CD required[3]. However, they must still register online to participate.
Showdown at George Mason
Once the applicants are chosen to compete, they begin the semi-final round. These are held in the rehearsal rooms in George Mason's "de Laski" Performing Arts Building[4]. They are judged by trumpeters from around the area including Steven Hendrickson of the National Symphony Orchestra, Dr. Dennis Edelbrock, and trumpeters from Washington D.C.'s military bands. Depending on the division, there are about 25-50 competitors. After the first day, about five trumpeters from each division move onto the finals. One winner is selected after the finals which take place in Harris Theater[5]
Notes
- ^ http://trumpetnj.tripod.com/id18.html
- ^ Home Page (National Trumpet Competition)
- ^ http://www.nationaltrumpetcomp.org/uploads/NTC_2011_Rules.pdf
- ^ http://info.gmu.edu/FairfaxMap10lttr.pdf
- ^ Glenn Kruger. Interviewed by the author. Fairfax, VA. 2008
1. http://trumpetnj.tripod.com/id18.html 2. http://www.nationaltrumpetcomp.org/ 3. http://www.nationaltrumpetcomp.org/uploads/NTC_2011_Rules.pdf 4. http://info.gmu.edu/FairfaxMap10lttr.pdf 5. Glenn Kruger. Interviewed by the author. Fairfax, VA. 2008
Categories:- George Mason University
- Music competitions
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