Trumpet Studio Update & Schedule

Greetings from the WT Trumpet Studio!

This year has been a whirlwind of performances, opportunities and growth within the studio. We wanted to take an opportunity to bring everyone up to speed on all the exciting things happening with the current trumpet students and faculty as we continue the 2024-2025 school year!

This year has been a very special one for me personally as I joined the rest of the music faculty here at WT. I have felt very welcomed by my colleagues as well as the incredible students here as I begin this new role in teaming up with Dr. William Takacs to lead the trumpet studio.

Here follows some of the highlights of the year so far.

Dr. Takacs was selected to premier a new work entitled “Tau” written by our very own Dr. BJ Brooks. This performance took place at the International Trumpet Guild Conference in Anaheim, California. He of course knocked it out of the ballpark. Then he turned right around and performed Arban’s Carnival of Venice in an actual ballpark at the annual Hodgetown concert with the Amarillo Symphony!

The students kicked off the school year with some lights-out trumpet features in the Sound of West Texas Buffalo Marching Band shows. Those performances made the rounds to area high school students at the High Plains Marching Festival as well as culminating in an exhibition performance at the UIL 4A State Marching Championships in San Antonio.

Jesse Chavez and Aubyn Nall gave masterful performances in their senior recitals early in the fall.

WT Symphony students joined the Amarillo Symphony in a special side-by-side Halloween performance in the Amarillo Globe News Center.

Students had opportunities to perform in multiple Amarillo Symphony concerts in the trumpet section this season and will continue to be involved in more in the future. This is a really unique and special way for us to mentor our trumpet students in professional orchestra settings as they build experience. They even get paid!

The WT Faculty Brass Quintet and Pinnacle Brass Quintet (an incredible student group) were both invited to perform at the 2025 TMEA Convention.

Several of our trumpet students perform regularly in the Amarillo jazz scene with the Emily Sotelo Quartet and Amarillo Jazz Society Big Band.

We even found a few moments to unwind and just hang out together as a studio during the fall—whether chowing down on tacos after studio class or gathering at Dr. Takacs’ home for food and games to wrap up the semester.

Dr. Takacs and I maintain active performance schedules in the Amarillo Symphony, Chamber Music Amarillo, Amarillo Opera, and the Faculty Brass Quintet to name a few. We were recently honored to perform two double trumpet concertos by Vivaldi and Manfredini with Chamber Music Amarillo this past January.

The students have done incredible work so far this year performing in studio recitals, the bands, jazz bands, orchestra, brass choir, brass quintets, trumpet ensemble, basketball band…you name it, they’ve done it.

They are diligent in progressing in their trumpet playing in addition to the rest of their studies. Dr. Takacs and I are so proud of them and their work! This is an incredible place with incredible people.

We are so grateful for the support these students receive. Go Buffs!

Sincerely,
David Lough
Trumpet Instructor
WTAMU