Xander Fu
The sun rises and with it the sounds of trumpets playing; the members of the CWU Trumpet Club are beginning their morning practice. Every morning, trumpet students meet in pairs to play through a one to two hour warmup routine before their first classes.
Mentored by Dr. John Harbaugh, professor of trumpet studies, Trumpet Club is focused on how to develop students into professional players.
It is comprised of 23 members, all of whom are students in the music department’s Trumpet Studio.
In club meetings, Harbaugh works with students one-on-one. While all students receive weekly private lessons, the workshop is an opportunity for students to hear each other.
Hannah Mowry, junior music education and trumpet performance major and president of trumpet studio, credited the accomplishment to the practice habits encouraged in their meetings.
According to Mowry, the motto of the group is “iron sharpens iron. It’s a supportive atmosphere where we hold each other accountable.”
Harbaugh, who has performed with jazz artists Buddy Rich, Lionel Hampton and Ray Charles, teaches the Bill Adams method.
“If you can hear it, you can play it. [It’s] producing the sound in your mind,” Mowry said.
Mowry leads the club with Joshua Bell, music education and performance major, because they have differing strengths. “Hearing his [playing] is like osmosis,” Mowry said. We “want to use every opportunity to develop” ourselves.
Members of the Trumpet Club practice and perform with CWU’s three classical ensembles, orchestra and jazz groups. Several play for CWU’s Swing Cats jazz band, Jazz in the Valley, Kittitas County Farmer’s Market and other community events.
Several Trumpet Club members volunteer with high school and middle school musicians in the area.
Mowry consults for the trumpet section of Morgan Middle School’s jazz band and the trumpet section at A.C. Davis High School in Yakima. Students are encouraged “to go out and find real-world ways to teach,” Mowry said.
Trumpet Club hosts Trumpet Fest in November. The event hosts high school students from around the area for a day of guest speakers, clinics and performances.
The 2016 festival offered a single $2,500 scholarship for students auditioning for the CWU Music Department. As president, Mowry organized the festival. “It’s a great way to recruit future students,” Mowry said.
Four members of the CWU Trumpet Club also qualified to compete at the 2017 National Trumpet Competition, which takes place in Denver, Colorado in March. Bell, Mowry, Matthew Wentland and James Dawson will perform a quartet piece. Dawson, graduate trumpet performance major, will perform in the Solo Division as well.
“The vision is always to grow, both in numbers and in the quality of musicians,” Mowry said.
Most prospective members audition for the trumpet studio and the music department during their senior year of high school. People who audition can ask for one-time lessons from a current student.
Once a member, trumpet students can apply to the National Trumpet Competition annually, where they can witness top performers from across the country, including military groups and world-class solo artists.
“It’s a great way to network,” Mowry said.