Brandon Ridenour

Brandon Ridenour is a stylistically diverse trumpet soloist, collaborative artist, composer, and arranger. Recognized as “heralding the trumpet of the future” (Chicago Sun-Times) and for his “full-bodied, atmospheric arrangements” (New York Times), he began learning about the wonders of music at age 5, studying piano under the tutelage of his father. This morphed into “tootelage” when he picked up the trumpet in 5th grade band class in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Upon graduating from the Juilliard School, he immediately began touring the world with the Canadian Brass and embarked on a solo career. He is also an active composer/arranger, writing in a wide variety of styles for various instrumentations and artists. He has won competitions ranging from the International Trumpet Guild Solo Competition to the American Composers Forum. Emphasizing the role of performer-composer, he assembled a group of similar-minded musicians based in Brooklyn called Founders. He has played with a diverse array of musicians including Jon Batiste, Sting, James Taylor, Marvin Hamlisch, Yo-Yo Ma, Wynton Marsalis, Esperanza Spalding, Bruce Cockburn, John Williams, and esteemed ensembles such as the New York Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, International Contemporary Ensemble, the Knights, Orpheus, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, and many others. Ridenour is on faculty at Manhattan School of Music and the New School, where he is passionate about developing a new model of education for a well-rounded, progressive musician of the future.