He is a trumpeter and cartoonist from Easton, Pennsylvania who went to school in Philadelphia and came from a musical family where his father and grandfather were both trumpeters and his uncle wrote for the Stan Kenton Orchestra. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree at Temple University and won the Concerto Competition Soloist at the Philadelphia Academy of Music. He took further studies at Wichita State University and while there joined the teaching faculty as well as becoming a member of the Wichita Symphony.
He became Principal Trumpet with the New Haven Symphony in 1983 and before long joined the New York Trumpet Ensemble. Around 1987 he became a member of the Empire Brass and made many appearances on national and international television shows as well as performing on 15 CD recordings. The ensemble appeared with orchestras from Japan and Switzerland as well as at home in the United States with The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony, The Philadelphia Orchestra and the Saint Louis Symphony.
After many years with the Empire Brass he became Principal Trumpet with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in 1995. He remained there for six years before being appointed Associate Principal Trumpet with The Philadelphia Orchestra in 2001.
A selection of recordings he has performed on include Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 3 by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Sound the Trumpet, Class Brass, Music of Gabrieli, Royal Brass: Music from the Renaissance & Baroque, Braggin’ in Brass, Empire Brass on Broadway, Mozart for Brass and King’s Court and Celtic Fair by the Empire Brass, Gabrieli by the National Brass Ensemble, The Heroick Mr. Handel and George Friedrich Handel by the New York Trumpet Ensemble, Peter Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 “Pathetique”/Dumka and Peter Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet/String Serenade/Francesca Da Rimini/Brass Quintet Nos. 1 & 3 by The Philadelphia Orchestra and Classic For All Seasons – Spring by various artists.
In the field of musical education he is on the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music, which he joined in 2003, and Temple University and has previously been on the teaching faculties of Boston University, the Royal Academy of Music in London, the Tanglewood Institute and the University of Connecticut.
Outside of his work with the orchestra he is a cartoonist who, since 2015, often has work appearing on NPR Classical’s Facebook and Twitter feeds.
His wife Miyo is a violinist with The Philadelphia Orchestra.
Sources:
- https://www.philorch.org/your-philorch/meet-your-orchestra/musicians/jeffrey-curnow/
- http://www.davidbrubeck.com/2015/06/empire-brass-member-jeffrey-curnow-illustrates-to-five-his-rememberances-of-ebq-rolf-smedvig/
- https://www.wrti.org/arts-desk/2021-03-10/time-in-with-jeff-curnow-philadelphia-orchestra-trumpeter-npr-cartoonist-and-fun-loving-humorist
- https://www.npr.org/sections/deceptivecadence/2015/10/30/452896445/a-teasing-trumpeter-jeffrey-curnows-cartoons
- https://www.yamaha.com/artists/jeffreycurnow.html
- https://www.ondine.net/?lid=en&cid=3.2&oid=4300
- https://curtis.edu/person/jeffrey-curnow/