The Emory & Henry College trumpet ensemble performs in Pennsylvania.
The Emory & Henry College Trumpet Ensemble has been selected to perform at the 2014 International Trumpet Guild Conference, a prestigious event that attracts the best trumpet performers from colleges and universities in the United States and abroad.
The conference, which is held in May at Valley Forge, Pa., is known for including schools with the strongest instrumental music programs, including Baylor, Northwestern and Florida State universities as well as the universities of Louisville, North Texas and Oklahoma. International institutions that have participated often in the conference include the Lyon Conservatoire in France and the Escola Superior de Músic e Artes do Espetáco in Spain.
"This conference is full of the very best trumpet players and teachers from around the world," said Dr. Matt Frederick, E&H professor of music. "The selection committee for the International Trumpet Guild is very careful to only include and spotlight very high quality college and university programs in keeping with their strict standards.
"For Emory & Henry to be selected to participate in the conference speaks highly of the quality of the E&H music program and its student musicians," Frederick said.
The E&H musicians who are attending the conference include Shelby Carico, a sophomore from Norton, Va.; Aaron Gillespie, a senior from Bluefield, Va.; Stephanie Edwards, a sophomore from Cleveland, Va.; Chris Gillenwaters, a first-year student from Oak Ridge, Tenn.; and Jordan Bennett, a first-year student from Johnson City, Tenn.
Many of the trumpet ensembles selected for the conference include graduate students in music. Frederick added, "I am very proud to say that our group is made up of undergraduate students from a small liberal arts school. The students are very aware of the professional approach that is expected and needed to succeed at these high levels."
During the conference the ensemble will perform the "Russian Suite," which includes the overtures from "Ruslan and Ludmila" and "Night on Bald Mountain." The pieces were arranged specifically for this group.
The selection of the E&H ensemble was based on a recording of their performance as well as the reputation of the instrumental music program at the college.
This year marks the second year that E&H musicians have been selected for the conference. In 2008, Frederick directed an ensemble that represented the College at the event for the first time.
