Chris Martin visits the University of Georgia

Chris Martin, principal trumpet of the New York Philharmonic, visited the University of Georgia for a masterclass and recital at the Hugh Hodgson School of Music (HHSOM).

Mr. Martin, who is originally from Georgia, arrived on January 31, 2018, for a masterclass attended by HHSOM faculty and students as well as community members. He opened with a commanding performance of Otto Ketting’s Intrada. After giving a brief background on his career path from Philadelphia to Atlanta to Chicago to New York, he worked with the HHSOM trumpet graduate students on excerpts from solos, etudes, and orchestral works. 


Photo: (Left to Right) Anatoly Sheludyakov, Philip Smith, Chris Martin, and Brandon Craswell (Photo Credit: Sydney Hasler)

Mr. Martin was accompanied by Mr. Anatoly Sheludyakov on February 1 for his 6 p.m. recital at Ramsey Hall on the campus of UGA. The recital was funded in part by the generous donation of Sandra Bussell in honor of her late husband Kelly, an Athens trumpeter and music enthusiast.

Mr. Martin opened the recital with Tomaso Albinoni’s Concerto in D minor, Op. 9 #2, followed by Concertino by Ernst Sachse. Mr. Martin took time between each piece to engage the audience with various stories surrounding each work. He closed the first half with Marcel Bitsch’s Quatre Variations sur un Thème de D. Scarlatti and John Williams’s With Malice Toward None, both on C trumpet. After a set change, Mr. Martin was joined by the graduate students of the trumpet studio and conductor Mr. Philip Smith to perform Dennis Horton’s Proclamation, Psalm and Praise. Mr. Martin also played a cornet duet, Quicksilver, by Peter Graham with Philip Smith, the William F. and Pamela P. Prokasy Professor in the Arts.

Mr. Martin ended the program with a rousing trio, The Victors, by Bruce Broughton, alongside Mr. Smith and Dr. Brandon Craswell, Associate Professor of Trumpet at UGA. The brass band version of Victors was arranged for piano for this occasion by Mr. Eric R. Dina, the Divisional Music Director for the Salvation Army in Northeast Ohio. (He also did the reduction for Quicksilver.)

Mr. Smith commented after the residency, “It was a real treat to have Mr. Chris Martin visit The Hugh for two days! Being able to watch and listen to him play was a real incentive to us all, students and faculty alike! He had insightful comments for the graduate students in the masterclass, and he graciously allowed us to observe his rehearsal with the pianist. Attending his recital was an inspiration. He had complete command of the Piccolo, E-flat, C, B-flat, Flugelhorn and Cornet, with beautiful sound on each.”


Videos of the recital may be found on YouTube (https://youtu.be/KjKzI3C-SL0).

(Source: Deborah Caldwell, doctoral student, University of Georgia)

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