KCB Youth Soloists - Where are they now?
2002 – Brandon Ridenour, Trumpet, Portage Northern High School
2002 KCB Spring Concert Program Notes
The winner of the 2002
Youth Soloist Competition is Brandon Ridenour, trumpet. Ridenour,
the son of Stacy and Richard Ridenour, is a junior at Portage Northern
High School. He is no stranger to West Michigan audiences, having
performed a piano solo with the Kalamazoo Junior Symphony earlier this
year. He was also the Youth Concerto winner in 2001, performing with
the Kalamazoo Symphony. He is the principal trumpet with the
Kalamazoo Junior Symphony and is a member of that ensemble’s brass
quintet. He is also the drum major of the Portage Northern High
School Band, and is a member of the Concert Choir. Ridenour is a
student of Scott Thornburg, Western Michigan University.
Where Is He Now
At the age of 20, Brandon Ridenour became the youngest trumpeter to join the ranks of the world-renowned Canadian Brass. Brandon met the group in the summer of 2005 as a student at the Music Academy of the West, in Santa Barbara, CA. After having the opportunity to study and play along side the group, Brandon was asked to join the Canadian Brass “trumpet dream team” and began touring with them in 2008. A graduate of the Julliard School in 2007, Brandon has already made a mark for himself as a trumpet soloist, chamber musician, composer and arranger. Brandon made his orchestra solo debut in May of 2006 with the National Symphony, Marvin Hamlisch conducting, at the Kennedy Center’s 35th Anniversary Gala in Washington, DC. Immediately after the concert, Brandon was invited back to solo with Mr. Hamlisch and the NSO again for a series of sold out concerts at the Kennedy Center the following December. Other notable solo awards and appearances include winning the 2007 Aspen Music Festival’s concerto competition and the 2006 International Trumpet Guild solo competition playing his own composition, “Sonata for Trumpet and Piano.” Brandon’s compositional abilities earned him an honorable mention from ASCAP’s 2006 Morton Gould Young Composer competition. In 2005, Brandon and his father pianist Rich Ridenour released a CD called “Trumpet Invasion” featuring popular piano music arranged for trumpet and piano. The “Trumpet Invasion” project was designed to expand the trumpet’s boundaries and create a new outlet for the instrument. Brandon is constantly on the look for new pieces that could be adapted for the trumpet. Also in 2005, Brandon toured Europe with the Julliard Orchestra and played on their PBS Live From Lincoln Center broadcast as part of Julliard’s Centennial Celebration in 2006. He appeared on the PBS Live From Lincoln Center again last spring, in a performance commemorating the closing of Alice Tully Hall. While at Julliard, Brandon received his trumpet instruction from Mark Gould and Ray Mase. His prior trumpet teachers include Scott Thornburg (Western Michigan University) and Greg Good (Cornerstone College, Grand Rapids, MI). Brandon grew up in Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids, MI in a very musical family. His father, Rich, is a professional piano soloist and began giving Brandon piano lessons when he was five years old. His mother, Stacy, is the Executive Director of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra and is also a trained pianist. His younger brother, Ross, is a percussionist. Together the family played many concerts and events in Michigan. For a concert calendar, sounds, and CD info, please visit - www.myspace.com/bridenour