TRUMPET COMPETITION

posted by James Reel

    Here's a press release I just received about a competition named after Caruso, but not the Caruso you probably have in mind:

    What: The 2007 Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Solo Competition and Gala Concert, hosted by the School of Music at The University of Arizona
    When and Where:
Saturday, Nov. 3, 10:30 a.m. Lecture, Crowder Hall, UA School of Music
Saturday, Nov. 3, 12:00 p.m. Competition. Crowder Hall, UA School of Music
Saturday, Nov. 3, 7:30 p.m. Gala Concert, Centennial Hall, The University of Arizona
    Cost/Admission: Free, open to the public
    The center of the jazz trumpet world will be The University of Arizona campus on Saturday, November 3, 2007, as the UA School of Music hosts the 2007 Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Solo Competition and Gala Concert.
    The Caruso competition is considered the most prestigious competitive event for jazz trumpet artists in the world. The International Trumpet Guild (ITG) and the Herb Alpert Foundation sponsor this bi-annual event. It is the first time the UA has hosted this competition. The winning prize is $10,000 and the runner-up receives $5,000. The UA School of Music, UA Presents and Tucson Jazz Society have teamed up with ITG and the Herb Alpert Foundation to offer the competition and this incredible concert free of charge as a musical gift to our community.
    Thirty-four trumpeters, all under the age of 30, from Finland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, England and the United States submitted audition CDs and tapes this past spring for a chance to perform in Tucson this year. The five final contestants chosen were: Ambrose Akinmusire (New York, NY), James Davis (Evanston, IL), Matthew Holman (Chicago, IL), Tobias Kaemmerer (Chicago, IL), and Charles Porter (New York, NY). Mr. Holman is a graduate of Canyon del Oro High School in Tucson.
    The artists/judges for the Tucson final competition and concert are Byron Stripling, Pat Harbison, and Vince DiMartino. In addition to the judges, pianist and trumpeter Jeff Holmes will join all of the soloists during the Gala Concert. His arrangement of “Byouba,” written for the competition by Jeff Haskell, will be presented.
    Composer/arranger Kim Scharnberg is providing the performers with a new work, commissioned for this concert, called “The Miraculous Polar Bear Adventure,” which features all nine of the guest trumpet artists.
    UA Professors Jeffrey Haskell and Edward Reid are the co-hosts for this event.