General Trumpet Studio Information

If you are looking for a rewarding, challenging, and supportive environment that provides ample opportunity to interact with renowned faculty artists and to travel internationally, then James Madison University is the place to continue your musical education. James Madison University, located in the picturesque Shenandoah Valley is one of the outstanding institutions in the country, as rated by Newsweek, Money, and Changing Times magazines.  We have a large, comprehensive School of Music that offers nationally-recognized degree programs in Music Industry, Music Education, Performance, Composition, and Jazz Studies.  Performance is an integral part of all music degree programs at JMU and to that end we offer a large number of first-rate ensembles. For trumpet students at JMU, there are opportunities to perform in the Symphony Orchestra, Opera Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, Musical Theater Pit Orchestra, Wind Symphony, Symphonic Band, Marching Royal Dukes, Brass Band, Trumpet Ensemble, Brass Quintets, Collegium Musicum, Bach Aria Group, Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Band, and Jazz Combos.  

The JMU Symphony Orchestra and Wind Symphony have been featured at the Virginia Music Educators Conference on multiple occasions, and the nationally recognized Marching Royal Dukes have recorded for Columbia Pictures as well as being the featured band on multiple occasions at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. Recent international travel with the MRD’s has included trips to Rome and London.

JMU also offers an extensive brass chamber music program, including a large British-style brass band, several brass quintets, and a trumpet ensemble. The JMU Trumpet Ensemble has performed at the International Trumpet Guild Conference and has performed as Semi-finalists in the National Trumpet Competition on multiple occasions.  Additionally, the JMU Brass Band is a perennially, top-ranked ensemble at the North American Brass Band Association’s annual contest and several trumpet studio members have won and placed in the top 3 of the solo competitions. Recent international travel with the JMU Brass Band has included trips to Austria and Germany, as well as a trip to Manchester, England as a featured performer at the 2017 Festival of Brass at Royal Northern College of Music.

JMU trumpet students have won regional solo competitions and been selected for All-American College Bands at Disney World in Orlando and Disneyland in Anaheim.  Additionally, trumpet students are active in summer music festivals performing both nationally and internationally. Former trumpet students have been accepted for advanced degrees in performance at many of the nation's top graduate schools and JMU trumpet graduates are now performing or have performed professionally in the Grant Park Symphony in Chicago, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Atlanta Symphony, Pit Orchestras on Broadway, the nation’s premier military bands in Washington, D.C., and numerous cruise ship lines to name a few. Additionally, several trumpet studio graduates are now college professors at some of the nation’s top schools of music. Recent international travel with the trumpet studio has included two trips to the Sulzbach-Rosenberg International Music Festival in Germany to perform in solo recitals, chamber groups, and with the festival orchestra.

The JMU School of Music is the place to realize your dreams of a life in music.  We offer an outstanding, student-centered education and ample opportunities for international study abroad.  If you have any questions about our program, do not hesitate to e-mail or call.  I hope to see you at the auditions.

Cordially,

Dr. Chris Carrillo
Associate Professor of Trumpet
carrilcj@jmu.edu
www.chriscarrillotrumpet.com
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