Anthony Plog

The Trumpet and his Parents

ITG member Anthony Plog had his first children's opera premiered on July 14 by the Utah Opera and Symphony. In "How the Trumpet got its Toot", all of the characters are instruments: the central role is, of course, the trumpet. The premiere took place at the Sandy Amphitheatre, Salt Lake City, Utah.

On stage, the trumpet was portrayed by baritone Anthony Zoeller ("an absolute delight"), but the actual playing was that of ITG member and Utah Symphony principal trumpet Nick Norton, "his trumpet flourishes complementing Zoeller's exuberant singing and dancing". The Salt Lake Tribune further comments, "A disastrous audition by Trumpet required the real trumpeter to flub some notes spectacularly, which Norton did to amusing effect. Autographs after the performance."

Plog himself played the trumpet in the Utah Symphony in the 1970s. Since 1993 he has been a professor of trumpet in Freiburg, Germany at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik (Freiburg University of Music). He has an impressive list of performances and recordings to his credit and a long catalogue of compositions, among them two other pieces for trumpet premiered by the Utah Symphony, and many other pieces for trumpet(s), other brass instruments, and brass ensemble. The composer's website gives details of availability.

Websites:
Anthony Plog
Utah Opera
Utah Symphony
Staatliche Hochschule für Musik (in German)
Freiburg University of Music (in English)

Salt Lake Tribune Arts pages (may require registration for access to archived articles)

Update:
5th January 2005 - opera photo added

Source: Anthony Plog, Salt Lake Tribune (italicized comments)