When San Francisco Symphony principal trumpeter Mark Inouye astonished audiences in the orchestra’s opening concerts with brilliant, partially improvised solos in George Antheil’s Jazz Symphony and Gershwin’s An American in Paris it was par for the course. He has been having this kind of impact in Davies Hall since 1999. But there is lots more to the story.
Composer, jazz musician, homerun king, treasured teacher and coach, Inouye is also responsible for “Noble Trumpets.”
That would be a group of students from Inouye’s San Francisco Conservatory of Music trumpet studio, whose purpose he describes as “educating exceptionally talented musicians from around the world to become artists of the highest caliber, as well as musical citizens prepared for the challenges of the 21st Century.”
Inouye has marched the group out to many public functions, including Fleet Week celebrations and baseball games. The next mission:
The trumpeters are excited to perform the National Anthem at the San Francisco Giants game on Sept. 24, against the despicable Dodgers. It’s a great way to start the school year by doing something musically fulfilling and fun on a large stage.
Inouye's Noble Trumpets at Fleet Week
Not often does one get to perform live in front of 40,000 people and we have a special anthem arrangement specifically done for this ensemble every year. We hope that some of these loyal Giants fans will hear us and perhaps be inspired to come check out one of the many wonderful concerts the San Francisco Conservatory has to offer.
This will be our third consecutive year playing at AT&T Park and the Giants are 2-0 in games we've performed at. We're hoping to keep that winning streak alive! You can find out what the trumpeters are up to by visiting our website.
I hope nobody will tell Inouye about the Giants’ current standing. It could cause something he never does: a sour note.
