Blazing New Trails – Peyden Shelton

Peyden Shelton, Trumpet

Victor Valkov, Piano

with University of Utah Wind Ensemble | Brian Sproul, Conductor

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Trumpet repertoire within the anthology of music history has very much existed as an underrepresented genre despite the instrument’s strong presence in ensembles and ceremonies since the middle of the 19th century. In fact, the last 100 years have yielded more new works for solo trumpet than any other period. This narrow scope in compositional creation leaves players with a somewhat limited selection of expressive works compared to other instruments such as the piano or violin. This often implies that many pieces, including a handful of “staples” in the corpus of our repertoire, are performed more often than others – thus gaining a stigma of being “over played.” This limitation and overuse of select repertoire inspired me to begin a project that helped to create and spark new life within the body of solo trumpet repertoire.

The Trumpet Repertoire Project, created in 2016, was designed to focus on the commissioning and collection of both new and existing pieces for solo trumpet that enabled performers to refine their collaboration in both a musical and technical setting. Each work allows performers to hone their skills through elements that push their interpretive boundaries. This project, even beyond this CD, continues to amplify the compositional voices of past and current composers in the hopes to add further depth and diversity to the pieces we label as “staples” within the solo trumpet genre.

This project’s goal wasn’t only to enhance the musical and technical skills of young performers through repertoire, but also to grow the entrepreneurial and cross-curricular skills that music students need to possess in a post-pandemic musical field. Every composition on this CD was recorded, edited, mastered, and rehearsed by music students at the University of Utah.