International Trumpet Guild

International Trumpet Guild
Name	International Trumpet Guild
Formation	1975
Type	Nonprofit musical organization
Headquarters	Greensboro, North Carolina
Leader title	Executive Director

International Trumpet Guild is a global professional association for trumpet players, educators, scholars, and enthusiasts that promotes performance, pedagogy, research, and repertoire for the trumpet. The organization connects performers from orchestras, conservatories, universities, jazz ensembles, military bands, and solo careers, while engaging with instrument makers, publishers, and festival organizers.

History

The guild was founded in 1975 following meetings among prominent figures in brass performance and education including members of the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Vienna Philharmonic. Early leadership included performers and educators associated with Eastman School of Music, Juilliard School, Curtis Institute of Music, University of North Texas, and Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. The organization developed relationships with publishers such as G. Schirmer, Boosey & Hawkes, Carl Fischer Music, Hal Leonard Corporation, and Éditions Billaudot to expand trumpet literature. Over decades the guild interacted with festival organizers of Tanglewood, Lucerne Festival, Ravinia Festival, and BBC Proms and with competitions like the ARD International Music Competition, Queen Elisabeth Competition, and Maurice André International Trumpet Competition.

Organization and Membership

The guild operates as a membership association with individual, institutional, and student categories, drawing members from orchestras including the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, and Sydney Symphony Orchestra'. Governance historically involved boards and committees with ties to conservatories such as Curtis Institute of Music, Royal Academy of Music, Royal College of Music, Conservatoire de Paris, and Hochschule für Musik und Theater München. Membership services collaborate with instrument manufacturers like Yamaha Corporation, Bach (instrument maker), Conn-Selmer, and Getzen and music retailers such as Sheet Music Plus and Music & Arts. Partnerships extend to professional societies including the International Trombone Association, North American Brass Band Association, Music Teachers National Association, and academic venues like International Society for Music Education gatherings.

Publications and Journal

The guild publishes a quarterly peer-oriented journal that presents articles on performance practice, pedagogy, history, and new repertoire, engaging contributors affiliated with Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Routledge, Indiana University Press, and university musicology departments at Harvard University, Yale University, University of Michigan, University of California, Los Angeles, and Princeton University. The journal has featured research on historical figures associated with Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Hector Berlioz, Maurice Ravel, Igor Stravinsky, Dmitri Shostakovich, and contemporary composers like John Williams, Arvo Pärt, Philip Glass, John Adams (composer), and Jennifer Higdon. Editorial work has connected with libraries and archives such as the Library of Congress, British Library, and the Bibliothèque nationale de France.

Conferences, Competitions, and Events

The guild organizes annual conferences that include performances, masterclasses, lectures, and exhibitions, often featuring artists associated with venues like Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Wigmore Hall, Sydney Opera House, and Lincoln Center. Conference programming has included collaborations with competitions and festivals such as the Tchaikovsky Competition, Naumburg Competition, Petersburg International Festival, and jazz events like the Montreux Jazz Festival, featuring performers from groups like the Miles Davis Quintet, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Snarky Puppy, and The Wynton Marsalis Septet. The guild also runs pedagogical sessions with representatives from conservatories including Manhattan School of Music, Berklee College of Music, Royal Northern College of Music, and Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University.

Educational and Outreach Programs

Educational initiatives target schools, community bands, youth orchestras, and university programs linked to organizations such as El Sistema, National Association for Music Education, Youth Orchestra of the Americas, and statewide arts councils. Outreach includes masterclasses, scholarship programs, commissioning projects with contemporary composers like Eric Whitacre, Osvaldo Golijov, Steve Reich, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, and partnerships with instrument makers and publishers for pedagogical editions used in curricula at Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, Conservatorium van Amsterdam, and San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Awards and Honors

The guild bestows awards recognizing lifetime achievement, pedagogy, research, and service, with honorees often drawn from artists connected to institutions such as the Kennedy Center Honors, Grammy Awards, Pulitzer Prize for Music, Order of Canada, Legion of Honour, and national academies like the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. Past awardees have included soloists, orchestral principals, jazz artists, and composers affiliated with New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Stanford University, Yale School of Music, and notable conservatory faculties.

Notable Members and Contributors

Notable contributors and members have included principal and solo trumpet figures associated with the New York Philharmonic and Chicago Symphony Orchestra, jazz luminaries linked to Duke Ellington Orchestra, Count Basie Orchestra, Miles Davis, and Louis Armstrong, pedagogues and scholars from Eastman School of Music, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Curtis Institute of Music, and composers who have written for trumpet such as Igor Stravinsky, Paul Hindemith, Olivier Messiaen, Benjamin Britten, Samuel Barber, Elliott Carter, and contemporary names connected to Nonesuch Records and Deutsche Grammophon.

Category:Music organizations Category:Brass instruments Category:Professional associations