Gardner-Webb Trumpet Summit Features Masterclasses and Concert

Part of the Distinguished Artist Series, Event on Sept. 30 Includes Three Acclaimed Musicians

Written By Sarianna Miranda-Rosado, ’24, Intern for Communications

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.—The Gardner-Webb University Department of Music is hosting the GWU Trumpet Summit on Sept. 30. Featured are three trumpet players with several years of performing and teaching experience. The event is open to the public and includes free masterclasses. The program is part of the Distinguished Artist Series, co-sponsored by the Alfred & Shirley Wampler Caudill Fund.

The concert at 8 p.m. is a ticketed performance in Dover Chapel, and the masterclasses are offered from 10 a.m. to noon and 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. in Hamrick Hall’s Blanton Auditorium. The classes are open to students and educators in high schools and colleges.

The acclaimed musicians are trumpet professors, Tim Hudson from Gardner-Webb; James Ackley from the University of South Carolina (USC) in Columbia; and Garrett Klein from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). Timothy Scruggs, GWU pianist, will provide accompaniment. The program includes music by Phillip Sparke, Pierre Gabaye, G. Torrelli, Gershwin, and Erik Morales.

Klein will present “Song and Dance” by Sparke. He performs across the United States and Asia as a soloist, chamber player, and orchestra musician. He is an assistant professor of trumpet and the head of the UNCG Trumpet Studio and directs the UNCG Trumpet Ensemble. His recent solo performances have been with the Minnesota Symphonic Winds, Gustavus Wind Orchestra, and the St. Olaf Norseman Band. As a guest musician, he has performed with the Charlotte Symphony, Winston-Salem Symphony, The Phoenix Symphony, Tucson Symphony Orchestra, New World Symphony, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra.

Ackley will perform “Sonatine” by Gabaye, and he and Hudson will present “Passion Dance” by Morales. He received his master’s in music from the Cleveland Institute of Music and has performed with several symphonies, such as Charlotte, Florida, Charleston, Moscow State and others. He is currently the principal trumpet of the South Carolina Philharmonic. He has performed as a soloist and recitalist in more than 33 countries and was a member of the award-winning Bala Chamber Brass. He has recorded several solo CDs to critical acclaim. He has commissioned over 40 works for trumpet, including two operas and two ballets for trumpet soloist.

In addition to the duet with Ackley, Hudson will play “Concerto in D” by Torrelli and “Someone to Watch Over Me” by Gershwin. He is a Yamaha Performing Artist, Summit Recording Artist, associate professor of trumpet at Gardner-Webb, a founding member and director of Carolina Brass and in 2015 joined The Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass. Hudson has been a member of professional orchestras in the United States and abroad under world-class conductors, including Lorin Maazel, Yoel Levi, Leonard Slatkin, Grant Llewellyn, Andrew Litton, James DePreist, Gerard Schwarz, Mariss Jansons, Gunther Schuller, Skitch Henderson and Enrique Batiz. He has held the principal trumpet position with the Knoxville Symphony (Tenn.), Chamber Orchestra of Northern New York, New England Philharmonic, Symphony Orchestra of the State of Mexico and the N.C. Opera. Hudson maintains a very active performance schedule playing an average of 250 times each year.

Tickets for the concert are $10 for the general public, $5 for seniors, free for GWU students, faculty, and staff, and free to any student with a student ID.

To register or obtain more information about the masterclasses, email the Chair of the Distinguished Artists Committee and Professor of Music, Dr. Patricia Sparti, at [email protected] and include Trumpet Summit in the subject line. Sparti may also be contacted by text to 704-466-4710.

Auxiliary aids will be made available to persons with disabilities upon request 48 hours prior to the event. Please call 704-406-4270 or email [email protected] with your request.

Located in the North Carolina foothills, Gardner-Webb University is a private, Christian, liberal arts university. Gardner-Webb emphasizes a strong student-centered experience and rigorous academics to prepare students to become effective leaders within the global community. Ignite your future at Gardner-Webb.edu.