Acclaimed trumpet pedagogues to join Shepherd School in 2013

CHARLES GEYER AND BARBARA BUTLER

Acclaimed trumpet pedagogues Barbara Butler and Charles Geyer will join Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music in July 2013.

“With the appointments of Charlie Geyer and Barbara Butler in trumpet, the Shepherd School engages two of our country’s pre-eminent performers and teachers,” said Robert Yekovich, dean of the Shepherd School. “Our brass department enters a new and exciting era, building upon the standards of excellence established by Marie Speziale, who is retiring as chair of brass and professor of trumpet.”

Butler and Geyer have been professors of trumpet at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music since 1998 and held the same positions for 18 years with the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music.

Butler and Geyer have performed as members or guests of some of North America’s top orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Houston Symphony, Grant Park Symphony, St. Louis Symphony and Lyric Opera Orchestra of Chicago. They are currently members and soloists with Music of the Baroque, Chicago Chamber Musicians, Grand Teton Music Festival, Ars Viva Symphony and Chicago Philharmonic. They have performed solos, recitals and master classes throughout the world.

In addition to numerous chamber and orchestral recordings, Butler and Geyer have released three duo recordings, including “With Clarion Voice” on D’Note, “Music for Two Trumpets and Organ” on Gasparo and their most recent, “Carmen Fantasia,” on Warner Bros.

“We are so fortunate to attract Charlie Geyer and Barbara Butler to our school,” said Larry Rachleff, the Walter Kris Hubert Professor of Orchestral Conducting. “After the excellence and great success of Marie Speziale, their appointment speaks for itself. They have been and continue to be towering forces in the trumpet and brass field.”

Butler’s and Geyer’s students fill many of the world’s top orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, St. Louis Symphony, Montreal Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, Atlanta Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Houston Symphony, San Francisco Symphony and the “President’s Own” Marine band. Additionally, they hold teaching positions at top schools and universities and have won many national and solo competitions, including the National Trumpet Competition and the International Trumpet Guild Solo and Orchestral Excerpts Competitions.

“We are excited to join the prestigious faculty of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University,” the husband-and-wife team of 33 years said. “Continuing to develop the finest trumpet studio in the world and to make a difference in the lives of musicians and their audiences is our passion and mission. Rice offers unique opportunities for intensive and nurturing work, and we can’t wait to share this with past, present and future students.”

For more information on the Shepherd School of Music, visit http://music.rice.edu.