Stephen Burns
Encyclopedia
Stephen Burns is an American
trumpet
virtuoso
, composer
, and conductor
. The New York Times
said of his playing, "Burns uses his instrument
with the lightness and flexibility of a singer
in opera
tic aria
s. The tone is smooth and buttery, the ornamentation
tasteful, the phrasing
refined."
and studied at the Juilliard School
where he earned a bachelors degree in 1981 and a masters degree in 1982 in trumpet performance. During that time he also studied at the Tanglewood Music Center
during the summers under Armando Ghitalla
, Gerard Schwarz
, Pierre Thibaud, and Arnold Jacobs
. He later pursued further studies in Paris
and Chicago
.
Burns won the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in 1981, which led to his acclaimed New York City
recital debut at the 92nd Street Y
on 23 March 1982. In 1982 he was awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant and in 1983 he received a National Endowment for the Arts
Recitalist Grant. He took first Prize at the Maurice André
International Competition for Trumpet in France in 1988. He has performed with major orchestras and music ensembles throughout the world including performances with the Atlanta Symphony, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
, the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, the Arturo Toscanini Orchestra, the Leipzig Kammerorkester, the Japan National Philharmonic, and the Seattle Symphony
to name just a few. A former faculty member at the Jacobs School of Music
of Indiana University
, the State University of New York at Purchase
and at the Manhattan School of Music
, he is currently teaching at the Center for Advanced Musical Studies at Chosen Vale. He is also the Artistic Director of the Fulcrum Point New Music Project and the American Concerto Orchestra in Chicago
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
virtuoso
Virtuoso
A virtuoso is an individual who possesses outstanding technical ability in the fine arts, at singing or playing a musical instrument. The plural form is either virtuosi or the Anglicisation, virtuosos, and the feminine form sometimes used is virtuosa...
, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, and conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
said of his playing, "Burns uses his instrument
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
with the lightness and flexibility of a singer
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
in opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic aria
Aria
An aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment...
s. The tone is smooth and buttery, the ornamentation
Ornament (music)
In music, ornaments or embellishments are musical flourishes that are not necessary to carry the overall line of the melody , but serve instead to decorate or "ornament" that line. Many ornaments are performed as "fast notes" around a central note...
tasteful, the phrasing
Phrase (music)
In music and music theory, phrase and phrasing are concepts and practices related to grouping consecutive melodic notes, both in their composition and performance...
refined."
Biography
Burns grew up in Wellesley, MassachusettsWellesley, Massachusetts
Wellesley is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of Greater Boston. The population was 27,982 at the time of the 2010 census.It is best known as the home of Wellesley College and Babson College...
and studied at the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
where he earned a bachelors degree in 1981 and a masters degree in 1982 in trumpet performance. During that time he also studied at the Tanglewood Music Center
Tanglewood Music Center
The Tanglewood Music Center is an annual summer music academy in Lenox, Massachusetts, United States, in which emerging professional musicians participate in performances, master classes and workshops designed to provide an intense training and networking experience...
during the summers under Armando Ghitalla
Armando Ghitalla
Armando Ghitalla was an American orchestral trumpeter. He studied at the Juilliard School, and performed in the New York City Opera, the New York City Ballet, and the Houston Symphony. He was a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra for twenty eight years, and served as principal trumpet for...
, Gerard Schwarz
Gerard Schwarz
Gerard Schwarz is an American conductor. He was music director of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra from 1985 to 2011.In 2007 Schwarz was named music director of the Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina, having served as principal conductor since 2005...
, Pierre Thibaud, and Arnold Jacobs
Arnold Jacobs
Arnold Jacobs was an American orchestral tuba player who was most known as the principal Tubist for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1944 until his retirement in 1988....
. He later pursued further studies in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.
Burns won the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in 1981, which led to his acclaimed New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
recital debut at the 92nd Street Y
92nd Street Y
92nd Street Y is a multifaceted cultural institution and community center located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, at the corner of E. 92nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Its full name is 92nd Street Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association...
on 23 March 1982. In 1982 he was awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant and in 1983 he received a National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
Recitalist Grant. He took first Prize at the Maurice André
Maurice André
Maurice André is a French trumpeter, active in the classical music field.-Biography:He is a classical virtuoso trumpeter, born in Alès, France in the Cévennes into a mining family. His father was an amateur musician....
International Competition for Trumpet in France in 1988. He has performed with major orchestras and music ensembles throughout the world including performances with the Atlanta Symphony, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra is a 40-member American chamber orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, considered by music critic Jim Svejda as "America's finest chamber orchestra".-History:...
, the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, the Arturo Toscanini Orchestra, the Leipzig Kammerorkester, the Japan National Philharmonic, and the Seattle Symphony
Seattle Symphony
The Seattle Symphony is an American orchestra based in Seattle, Washington. Since 1998, the orchestra is resident at Benaroya Hall. The orchestra's season runs from September through July, and serves as the pit orchestra for most productions of the Seattle Opera in addition to its own concerts...
to name just a few. A former faculty member at the Jacobs School of Music
Jacobs School of Music
The Jacobs School of Music of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, is a music conservatory established in 1921. Until 2005, it was known as the Indiana University School of Music...
of Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
, the State University of New York at Purchase
State University of New York at Purchase
Purchase College, State University of New York, is a public four-year college located in Purchase, New York, United States. It is one of 13 comprehensive colleges in the State University of New York system...
and at the Manhattan School of Music
Manhattan School of Music
The Manhattan School of Music is a major music conservatory located on the Upper West Side of New York City. The school offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition...
, he is currently teaching at the Center for Advanced Musical Studies at Chosen Vale. He is also the Artistic Director of the Fulcrum Point New Music Project and the American Concerto Orchestra in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.