Amy Millesen to the United States Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps

Amy Millesen won a position with the United States Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps in Washington, D.C.

Millesen is a trumpet player and artist-teacher pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts in Trumpet Performance and Pedagogy at the University of Colorado Boulder. She studies with Ryan Gardner and serves as a graduate assistant with the CU Boulder Athletic Bands, working with the Golden Buffalo Marching Band and Buff Band as a music coach, visual technician, and graduate conductor. Millesen also serves on the high brass teaching staff as a trumpet technician with the Music City Drum Corps in Nashville, Tennessee. 

A versatile and active performer, Millesen is a member of the Athena Brass Band, where she plays in the cornet section and serves on the board of directors. She is also a member of the Chromatic Brass Collective. Millesen maintains an active freelance career and has performed with Opera Colorado, the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, the Longmont Symphony Orchestra, the Boulder Symphony, and the Civic Orchestra of Los Angeles. 

As a soloist, Millesen has earned national and international recognition. In 2026, she placed second in the Military Band Excerpt Division at the National Trumpet Competition and was a semifinalist in the Graduate Solo Division. She won first place in the 2025 International Women’s Brass Conference Mock Military Band Trumpet Audition and the International Trumpet Guild Wind Band Excerpts Competition. She was also a member of the University of Southern California Trumpet Ensemble, which won first place in the Small Ensemble Division of the National Trumpet Competition in 2023.

Millesen holds a Master of Music in Trumpet Performance from the University of Southern California, where she studied with Tom Hooten and Jennifer Marotta, and a Bachelor of Music in Trumpet Performance from James Madison University, where she studied with Chris Carrillo. (Source: Amy Millesen)