Annual Midwest Trumpet Fest to feature guest group Triple Cortado

What began as an idea from a student has grown to be an annual unique music event that draws acclaimed performers from across the nation to Pittsburg State University.

Coming to McCray Hall and the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts on Oct. 6-7 is the annual Midwest Trumpet Festival. This year is the 14thyear of the festival.

In 2009, student Will Koehler approached Professor Todd Hastings about organizing a trumpet festival after seeing one at another school.

The first festival featured Hastings' professional jazz band as the guest performance. The first few years of guests were friends of Hastings, a trumpet player, coming to share their music while visiting. That led to festival fundraising and an endowment drive to bring in great artists every year.

"I've tried to bring in guest artists that are not easily heard in the Midwest. I wanted to bring in people that were big names that were not accessible," Hastings said.

This year's guest is Triple Cortado, with the opening performance on Oct. 6 at 7:30 p.m. in McCray Hall - a concert that is open to the public.

The group features trumpeter Caleb Hudson, trombonist Achilles Liarmakopoulos, and pianist Ahmed Alom.

They have had much success individually and as a group, with Hudson having performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City and an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Both Liarmakopoulos and Alom have performed as soloists and in ensembles around the world, as well as educating others with their trombone and piano skills.

Faculty and students have registered from high schools and universities across the Four State Area. Participants will get to learn from Hudson himself, as well as attend master classes to learn more about trumpets and prepare for their performance.

The festival will consist of a day and a half of presentations, educational sessions, and performances for students and faculty to enjoy. Starting at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, it will end on Monday with a student and faculty performance at the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts.

The student performance will be at 3 p.m. in the Linda and Lee Scott Performance Hall, with the faculty performance following at 5 p.m.

Admission for all performances will be free, but donations will be accepted at the door so Hastings can keep bringing in great guest artists for years to come.

"The public should come out to see this one; it's going to be special," Hastings said.

Registration to participate in the educational sessions and master classes is still open; register by Friday at noon at pittstate.edu/music/midwest-trumpet-festival.html.

Story by student intern Megan Brownell

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