OSU ensemble wins national competition

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

OSU trumpet ensemble wins first place in national competition

The Oklahoma State University Trumpet Ensemble Orange outperformed 27 other talented ensembles in the semi-finals to win first place in the National Trumpet Competition held last weekend in Harrisburg, Penn.

The win is especially impressive considering that the members of the OSU ensemble are all undergraduate students who competed against ensembles with graduate students, many from much bigger and better-known programs. “They competed with masters and doctoral students from conservatories and other major universities, to win this,” said Dr. Ryan Gardner, ensemble director, who added, “I am so proud of these talented students and truly honored and humbled by this achievement.”

Members of the winning ensemble include Cleon Chai from Moore; Nick Doutrich, Moore; Tyler Murray, Checotah; Natalie Upton, Prosper, Texas, and Matt Register, Boerne, Texas.

After a preliminary audition, the orange ensemble advanced to the semi-finals and onto victory by performing an arrangement of Debussy’s “Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun,” arranged by OSU graduate student and Mustang North Middle School Band Director Greg Mangus. The orange ensemble was one of two OSU trumpet ensembles which qualified for the semi-finals this year. Gardner has fielded ensembles that have reached the semi-finals of the competition each year since 2012.

OSU students who advanced to compete in the individual competition of the semi-finals this year included Cleon Chai in the undergraduate division, and Randall Self, from Denison, Texas, in the graduate division.

Gardner was also pleased to see that a couple of former students he taught, prior to coming to OSU, advanced in this year’s competition. “One of my high school students from nine years ago, Ross Ahlhorn, who is now pursuing a doctoral degree at James Madison University, qualified to compete in the finals of the graduate division. It was incredibly rewarding to see him do so well. Ian Mertes, from Cushing High School, is another former student of mine, who advanced to the semi-finals of the high school division.”