Caruso Competition Results

On October 2 in Denver, Colorado, Professor Alan Hood of the Lamont School of Music hosted the 2021 Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Solo Competition at the Newman Center for the Performing Arts on the University of Denver campus.

Clinician Vince DiMartino with master class participants

Co-sponsored by the International Trumpet Guild and Herb Alpert Foundation, this biannual event began in 1993 and has grown to become one of the world’s most prestigious competitions for jazz trumpeters. This year’s six finalists were Brandon Choi (Astoria, NY), Joey Curreri (Marina del Rey, CA), Austin Ford (Denton, TX), Giveton Gelin (New York, NY), David Sneider (Hartsdale, NY), and Oriol Vallès Lopez (Barcelona, Spain). Unfortunately, due to the last-minute renewal of a restriction on international travel to the United States, Oriol Vallès Lopez, was unable to attend the competition. All events were live streamed from the beautiful Hamilton Recital Hall, one of many fantastic performing spaces in the Lamont School of Music’s facilities.

The guest adjudicators for the competition—Jon Faddis, Terell Stafford, and Michael Rodriguez—awarded David Sneider the first prize, which included a cash prize of $10,000 as well as an invitation to perform at the next ITG conference in Minneapolis. Joey Curreri was the runner-up and received $5,000.

This competition honors the legacy of Carmine Caruso, one of the twentieth century’s greatest brass teachers. Caruso was born in 1904 and lived his entire life in New York. His teaching combined his intuitive understanding of the complexities of brass playing with a clear, concise teaching manner. Brass players from around the world traveled to New York to study with him until his death on May 26, 1987. He will always be remembered through the numerous students that have led subsequent generations of brass players.

(Source: Sean Butterfield)