TOM HOOTEN – TRUMPET INTERVIEW
Welcome to the show notes for Episode #73 of The Other Side of the Bell – A Trumpet Podcast. This episode features trumpeter Tom Hooten.
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About Tom Hooten
Photo credit: Rob Shanahan
Thomas Hooten, Principal Trumpet of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, is one of the world’s most prominent classical trumpeters today. He can be heard on numerous recordings with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and the National Brass Ensemble.
Hooten began his career in 2000 with a trumpet/cornet position in “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band in Washington, D.C., where he was often a featured soloist. He went on to join the Indianapolis Symphony as Assistant Principal Trumpet in 2004, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra as Principal Trumpet in 2006, and the LA Philharmonic in 2012. He released Trumpet Call, his first solo album, in 2011. In 2019, he recorded John Williams’ Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra, which was conducted by the composer.
Thomas is an active soloist and has appeared with many groups, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, “The President’s Own” US Marine Band, United States Air Force Band, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Richmond Symphony Orchestra, and Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra. As an orchestral and chamber musician, he has performed with ensembles such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Grand Teton Music Festival, Harrisburg Symphony, and the Baltimore Symphony.
Photo credit: Rob Shanahan
Hooten is on the faculty at the University of Southern California where he and his wife, Jennifer Marotta, teach the trumpet studio. He is a passionate educator and offers workshops on career development, audition preparation, and the mental approach to performance. Thomas has given masterclasses and recitals at Juilliard, Northwestern University, Indiana University, Mannes School of Music, San Francisco Conservatory, Guildhall School of Music, and many other locations throughout the United States and the world. A native of Tampa, Florida, he earned his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of South Florida and his Master of Music degree from Rice University. His primary trumpet teachers have included Armando Ghitalla, John Hagstrom, and Don Owen.
Tom Hooten Trumpet Links
Trumpet Podcast Credits
- “A Room with a View“ – composed and performed by Howie Shear
- Audio Engineer – Preston Shepard at SC Sound Labs
- Cover Art – Phil Jordan
Ralph Pyl commenced trumpet at age 12 on the northern beaches of Sydney Australia beginning his career studying and learning with US trumpet players and mentors John Hoffman and Dick Montz. In 1982 Ralph received a scholarship to study under the direction of Don Burrows at the NSW State Conservatorium of Music and at the age of 18 began a professional career with 3 years of touring with Australia’s renowned Daly Wilson Big Band.
As part of his engagement with contemporary compositions, Reinhold Friedrich premiered a large number of significant works. This includes pieces by Wolfgang Rihm, Carola Bauckholt, Luciano Berio, Edison Denissov, Peter Eötvös, Hans Werner Henze, Adriana Hölszky, Nicolaus A. Huber, Luca Lombardi, Benedict Mason, Sir Peter Maxwell Davis, Hilda Parèdes, Matthias Pintscher, Jan Rääts, Rebecca Saunders, Nina Šenk, EnjottSchneider, Daniel Schnyder, Gerhard Stäbler, Eino Tamberg, Caspar Johannes Walter, Christian Wolff, and Benjamin Yusopov. Solo concerts such as “Eirene” by Herbert Willi (Wergo) and “Nobody knows de trouble I see” by Bernd Alois Zimmermann, whose CD recording won an ECHO Klassik in 1994, form an important part of his broad repertoire.
Reinhold Friedrich was awarded another ECHO Klassik for the recording of the “Russian Trumpet Concerts” (MDG) with Göttinger Symphony Orchestra conducted by Christoph-Mathias Mueller. Numerous other CD recordings document his multifaceted work, including the first recording of the trumpet concerto “Pieta” by Christian Jost (Coviello) and the recording of the second Brandenburg Concerto (Sony) with the Berlin Baroque Soloists under Reinhard Goebel, which won the OPUS Classical price of 2018. A recording of Stravinsky’s L’histoire du Soldat (with Isabelle Faust) at the Wigmore Hall London is in the planning stage.
The sound of Grammy and Emmy nominated trumpeter, arranger Greg Adams is one of the world’s best-known musical signatures. As a founding member of Tower of Power, legendary for his arrangements that made the TOP horn section a sought out entity all its own. With countless collaborations in the studio and live on stage, Adams has made his mark on a broad stretch of today’s musical landscape that includes jazz, pop, rock, R&B, soul, and funk.
East Bay Soul celebrating their 10th Anniversay this year is the next creative step forward in a career filled with magic moments spanning over four decades, including an International Broadcasting Award from The Hollywood Radio and Television Society. An enduring recording artist and performer, the charismatic trumpeter has earned the respect of his peers and fans alike worldwide.
Underneath the Mistletoe marks Greg Adams and East Bay Soul’s 5th studio album and their first Christmas CD as they celebrate their 10thAnniversary. Here, East Bay Soul performs classic Christmas Songs with a mix of Funk Jazz, R&B and Soul. Greg Adams, Grammy and Emmy nominated trumpeter’s gorgeous arrangements herald in the season and the soulful R&B vocal by Darryl Walker caress the timeless lyrics of your favorite holiday music.
Dontae Winslow is one of the most versatile in-demand trumpeter/arranger/composers on the Hollywood music scene. His trumpet/arranging/songwriting can be heard on classics such as Kanye West’s grammy winning “We Major” from the multi-platinum Late Registration, Jayz’s “I Made it”, Dr. Dre’s Compton Movie Soundtrack (where Dontae composed the iconic fanfare intro and played solos throughout the album). The Final track “Talking to My Diary” uses a 2minute jazz trumpet solo after Dre’s verse over a hiphop song which was Dontae’s 1st take. He also plays on Kendrick Lamar’s “County Building Blues”, Snoop Dog’s Ego Trippin, Aloe Blacc’s smash song “I’m the Man”, and Beyonce’s Huge Ego among countless other hits. He has toured in the band of Justin Timberlake since 2013 where he performs in the Netflix Movie “JT & The Tennessee Kids. Dontae has performed in front of millions in the 2020 Experience World tour, Legends of Summer World Tour, and Man of The Woods World Tour. He has alo been on the bands of Lady Antebellum (You Look Good), D’angelo (Vodoo), Kamasi Washington, Raphael Saadiq, Lauryn Hill, Jill Scott, and most recently has been the arranger, orchestrator, and Music director for Queen Latifah.
After touring with JT Dontae released a summer party anthem sure to get you moving entitled “Shit Yeah” with him producing the TNkids live band along with analog synths and sing rapping the verse/choruses.
His first private lessons were with Jari Villanueva, then continued trumpet and learned to read music from Carolyn Foulkes in high school. At The New School Dontae studied with Roy Hargrove who would become a life musical mentor until his passing. In college at the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University Dontae studied with Wayne Cameron for undergrad, and Langston Fitzgerald III for graduate in classical trumpet performance. He has always had great jazz lessons from Maryland based jazz giant trumpeter Tom Williams and has been mentored by Jon Faddis and Wallace Roney. As a recipient of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Fellowship at USC Dontae studied jazz trumpet, composition, and film scoring with jazz legend trumpeter/composer Terence Blanchard. Also at USC he studied with jazz legend Bobby Shew, string arranger Jeremy Lubbock, Studio trumpet legend Gary Grant, and Gospel Composer Margaret Douroux.
Dontae has produced songs for platinum artists Snoop, Dr. Dre, Avant, Mary Mary, and Keyshia Cole. As an arranger he has orchestrated/arranged and played trumpet in the show for Queen Latifah’s debut concert with the Boston Pops, and recently their 2019 Fourth of July Summer Holiday Concert series. Dontae is influenced by all styles of music especially European classical composers Shostakovich, Mahler, Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff and Chopin. In his playing you can hear his love for the soul and swag of Lee Morgan, the harmony of Woody Shaw, the pathos of Roy Hargrove, and the elegance of Miles Davis.
Internationally acclaimed cross-genre trumpeter Niall O’Sullivan has performed all over the world, from orchestral playing to his solo theatre show. Niall has performed in some of the world’s most stunning venues throughout Ireland, Europe, Asia and the USA.
When the trumpet world got word of his growing profile as a performer and recording artist, Niall became a performing artist for Schilke Trumpets, Chicago exclusively. This relationship has seen Niall represent Schilke across the globe, from Dublin to Los Angeles.
John Hutchinson is a trumpeter, arranger, composer, teacher and blogger. Graduating from the Royal College of Music, London in 1999, he began his freelance career working with many of the UK’s major orchestras as well as recording and performing with major international pop acts such as Joss Stone and Bjork.
These days, John concentrates mainly on his media composition and production, brass and jazz arranging, and his trumpet teaching at some of the UK’s top schools. Having worked alongside numerous trumpet manufacturers over the years he also now engages with over 50,000 trumpeters around the world each month through his specialist trumpet website, MouthpieceOnline.com.
Hub van Laar founded his company in 1990 in Margraten, near Maastricht, on the border triangle to the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. Beginning as a workshop for brass wind instruments, the company expanded rapidly under the direction of Hub van Laar and Heidrun Jöchner to become an enterprise of world repute.
A new trumpet or flugelhorn is certainly not something one buys every day, and musicians develop a special relationship with their instrument. This is why Hub van Laar attaches great importance to individual and intensive contact with his customers. Over the years Van Laar has built up a wide range of trumpets and flugelhorns with all the technical requirements needed for all kinds of musicians and for every kind of music. These instruments were created in close cooperation with a number of musicians and have been continually improved, ensuring that the majority of customers will find “their” perfect trumpet or flugelhorn among them.
A native of New Orleans, Robert Karon received his Bachelor of Arts cum laude in Music from UCLA and Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School in New York City. He was the recipient of the Longy Award for achievement in Solfege. His teachers include Robert DiVall, Irving Bush, William Vacchiano, and Arnold Jacobs. Proficient in three languages, Karon toured South America, the Far East, and Europe during his two years with the Mexico City Philharmonic and played first trumpet with the Maracaibo Symphony Orchestra in Venezuela.
Bob Karon’s latest endeavor is his educational website 
Peter Bond has been a member of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra since 1992. Raised in Rockford Illinois, his path to the “Met” was atypical; while his future orchestra colleagues were attending professional training programs like Interlochen and Tanglewood, Mr. Bond spent summers on the road with a drum and bugle corps and the rest of his time focused on big band jazz. This pattern continued through college at Western Illinois University, where he received a degree in Music Education. It was only in graduate school at Georgia State University that he turned his attention to orchestral trumpet, studying with John Head, Principal Trumpet of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. He has also studied on an “outpatient” basis with Vincent Cichowicz, Adolph Herseth, Arnold Jacobs, Robert Nagle, and James Pandolfi.
Toru “Tiger” Okoshi was born in the Year of the Tiger on March 21 1950, just outside of Osaka (Ashiya city, Hyogo) As a child he was, in fact, devoted to painting as he loves today. At 13, he had an enlightening experience to see Louis Armstrong Perform live in Osaka, Japan, only 6 months after he begun to play the trumpet. ”He was painting the air with his trumpet” recalls Okoshi. Today, Okoshi often describes the relationship with his horn: “When I play, I want to paint the air with my colorful tone. Choices between long or short strokes, quick or slow, high in the canvas or low, brighter color or darker, with a fat brush or a pen. Paint the air one note at a time.”
Tiger, who loves sports, was invited to perform “The Star Spangled Banner” at the opening game of the 2007 season between Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees at Fenway Park, as well as the playoff games in 2007 and 2008. Tiger’s trumpet was surrounded by 20 trumpets, 10 trombones and 7 Japanese Taiko drummers playing his original arrangement. In 1997, Tiger recorded a CD entitled “Hustle Tigers” for Japanese major league baseball team Hanshin Tigers.