Smedvig, Rolf

He is a trumpeter, conductor, composer, arranger and teacher from Seattle, Washington, who learned music from a young age and he debuted on solo trumpet with the Seattle Symphony when he was thirteen years old.

He relocated to Boston, Massachusetts, and took his further education at Tanglewood and Boston University where he was taught by the eminent trumpeter Maurice Andre, among others.

In 1971 he became the founder of the Empire Brass and that same year he was also invited by Leonard Bernstein to be a soloist at the premiere of his Mass which was performed as part of the opening of the Kennedy Center. Also in 1971 he took the position of Assistant Principal Trumpet with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and rose to Principal Trumpet in 1979.

He left the BSO in 1981 in order to pursue his career as a chamber musician and soloist and continue his work with the Empire Brass. This was a successful move as he has gone on to perform at least 100 concerts a year on a national and international basis.

Throughout the course of his career as a soloist he has given performances with orchestras such as the Atlantic Classical Orchestra, the BSO, the Cambridge Chamber Orchestra, the Scottish Orchestra, the National Symphony, the NHK Orchestra and the New World Symphony.

Working as a conductor he debuted at the Tanglewood Music Center and has led the Honolulu Symphony, the Cambridge Chamber Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, the Cincinnati Symphony, the Simon Bolivar Orchestra, the Northwest Chamber Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Mexico, the Sydney Symphony and the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra.

As an arranger his work has been published by several companies and as a composer/arranger rote the ballet Passage which had its world premiere performed by the Boston Ballet.

In the recording studio he has released the solo albums Ceremonial Music for Trumpet and Symphonic Organ, Trumpet Concertos, Virtuoso Trumpet and Virtuoso: Rudolf Smedvig and at least 15 CDs with Empire Brass that include the Grammy Award nominated The Glory of Gabrieli.

In the field of musical education he has held many masterclasses and been a teacher at the Royal Academy of Music in London as well as at Tanglewood and Boston University.

Empire Brass recordings
O Come, All Ye Faithful (Frederick Oakeley/John Francis Wade)
Arranger – Frank DensonV
(CD: The Music of a Victoria Christmas)

Sources:

Smedvig, Rolf

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