Phil Snedecor

Biography

Phil Snedecor attended the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he received the prestigious Performers Certificate and was a member of the premiere brass quintet, the Canterbury Brass. While earning his degrees in trumpet performance and literature, he also studied arranging and composition with Professor Rayburn Wright, formerly arranger for Radio City Music Hall. Mr. Snedecor is a former member of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and has held one-year positions with the National Symphony, the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra and the Baltimore Opera. He is Principal Trumpet in the Harrisburg (PA) Symphony Orchestra and former Co-Principal Trumpet in the Concert Artists of Baltimore.  Mr. Snedecor has performed and toured throughout the United States, Europe and Asia.

As a show player, he has performed in the touring productions of Guys & Dolls, Phantom of the Opera, Beauty and the Beast, Peter Pan, Evita and West Side Story. He has recorded under the RCA, CBS, Gothic, Koss, and Summit labels. Phil’s solo CDs, The Lyrical Trumpet I and II are also available on the Summit Label. 

In 1993 Mr. Snedecor and National Symphony Principal Trombonist Milton Stevens co-founded The Washington Symphonic Brass, a 17-piece professional brass ensemble.  They perform regularly for the Washington National Cathedral, St. Matthew’s Cathedral, the Basilica at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, and with the Washington Choral Arts Society at the Kennedy Center. They were the official instrumental ensemble for the Papal visit of 2008 in Washington DC and are heard regularly in their own concert series in DC, Maryland and Virginia. Their critically acclaimed CDs are available on the Summit and Warner Classics labels. Phil’s innovative programming and arranging for the WSB has led to several guest conductor appearances, most recently with the River City Brass Band (Pittsburgh) and the Breckenridge (CO) Brass.

In 2012, Mr. Snedecor founded the DC Pops Orchestra, a 30-piece ensemble featuring some of the best Jazz and crossover artists in the region. This group has provided music for the elite of Washington in prestigious venues such at the National Building Museum and Mellon Auditorium. 

Mr. Snedecor is on the faculty at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, and George Mason University in Fairfax, VA, and has written a series of brass etude books that are required repertoire at many colleges and conservatories. His arrangements and compositions have been performed throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and Australia.