Richard Stoelzel
Biography
Hailed as “one of the foremost performers and teachers of trumpet in the US and Canada”, Richard Stoelzel maintains an active career as an international soloist and orchestral and chamber musician. His trumpet playing has been described by reviewers as “virtuosic and lyrical”.
He began his career as solo cornet with the United States Coast Guard Band, a presidential band. He has performed as a soloist in China, Turkey, Singapore, Russia, Costa Rica, Japan, Canada, Germany, Poland, Italy and Greece.
As an orchestral musician, Stoelzel was assistant principal trumpet of the New Orleans Symphony and won the principal trumpet position in 1993. He was a member of the Miami City Ballet, Ballet Florida, Florida Symphonic Pops, New World Symphony, South Florida Symphony, Colorado Music Festival, Des Moines Opera, Domaine Forget, and Masterworks Festival and has performed with the Detroit Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, Baltimore Symphony, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre symphonique de Québec, Jacksonville Symphony and Louisville Symphony. Richard is currently the principal trumpet of the Palm Beach Opera Orchestra and a frequent performer with the Syracuse Symphoria Orchestra.
As a chamber musician, Stoelzel is the founder, first trumpet and director of the highly acclaimed Avatar Brass. He was also a founding member of the New World Brass and has performed and toured with the Michigan Chamber Brass and the Grammy-winning Chestnut Brass. In addition to his live performances, Richard has recorded over 20 CDs with groups such as the Avatar Brass, Louisville Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony (PBS Broadcast), New Orleans Symphony, Asaph Orchestra, US Coast Guard Band and Dallas Wind Symphony. His first solo recording, BORN TO BE MILD, was released on the prestigious Albany record label to critical acclaim, as was his latest solo CD recorded in 2018 with the Polish Camerata Chamber Orchestra.
As a pedagogue, Stoelzel was on the Artist Faculty at the HARID Conservatory in Boca Raton, Florida, Professor of Trumpet at Grand Valley State University (GVSU) in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Visiting Professor at the University of Michigan, and is currently Professor of Trumpet at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. His students have consistently won numerous national and international awards. For example, under his direction, the GVSU Trumpet ensemble placed 1st in 2006 and 2008 at the National Trumpet Competition in Fairfax, Virginia. They also hold positions in various orchestras, military bands and professional chamber ensembles, such as Pershing’s Own Army Band, the President’s Own Marine Band, Seattle Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Xalapa Symphony, Canadian Brass, Atlantic Brass, Burning River Brass and Proteus 7 – and have performed in the popular rock groups “Pink Martini” and “Absolute”, as well as the Broadway hits “Annie”, “Wicked” and “Hairspray”.
Stoelzel has commissioned over 40 new works for trumpet and brass quintet by composers such as Eric Ewazen, James Stephenson, Arthur Weisberg, Robert Buckley, Erik Morales, Sean O’Loughlin, Frank Horvat and Robert Bradshaw.
Richard is also an accomplished conductor. He was the principal pops conductor for the HARID Conservatory, as well as music director of the Florida Wind Symphony. He is presently the conductor and music director of the Lakeshore Concert Band in Montreal, Quebec. He was also a recent guest soloist and conductor with the Xalapa Symphony Orchestra Brass.
Stoelzel was the co-founder and artistic director of the GVSU International Summer Trumpet Seminar, which ran from 2005 to 2014, and co-hosted the 2013 International Trumpet Guild conference. He is also the co-founder and current president of the World Trumpet Society. Richard is a Yamaha International Performing Artist
