Spokane Thunder Trumpet Tech. Makes Finals At NTC
Kristofer Hammond, age 26 and a junior at Florida State University, recently made it to the final round of the National Trumpet Competition [NTC] in the Graduate Division (ages 25 – 28) and subsequently, 5th place overall with a $500 prize.
“I was just happy to have made it to finals and in the company of some great players at top schools from around the country,” Kris said. In first place was Brent Grapes, from Juilliard; in second, Lacey Hays, from University of Oklahoma; fourth place, Noah Lambert, from Northwestern University; and Jonathan Stites, in third place, also from FSU. Both Jonathan and Kris take lessons from Dr. Christopher Moore (an Eastman Graduate and former member of the “Chestnut Brass Company” – Grammy winners for the CD “Hornsmoke” in 2000) of FSU.
Kristofer Hammond was born in Erie, PA and moved to Greenville, SC at age 15. During the summers of 1998 and 1999, he was a soprano player for the Tarheel Sun Drum and Bugle Corps (which later folded in 2001). Immediately after graduation in 2001, he won an audition and was accepted into the U.S. Navy’s music program as a trumpet instrumentalist. With orders to the “7th Fleet Band,” Kris was flown to Yokosuka, Japan where he spent three years as lead trumpet in the big band “Far East Edition” and principal trumpet of the brass quintet “Shonan Brass.” With several joint concerts with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Kris enjoyed many opportunities to play standard literature with such a fine ensemble.
“I just hope that I can impart some of the wonderful experiences I’ve had and apply them to the members of Spokane Thunder this summer. Drum corps is where I got my first taste for real brass playing and I don’t know what I would be doing now without it,” Kris said.
NTC is an annual competition held in mid-March at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. The competition is geared towards students from all over the country split into different age brackets from middle school up to college graduate students. Over the four days the competition is held, master classes are given by trumpet heavy-hitters like Adam Rapa, Vince DiMartino, and David Krauss (principal trumpet of the Metropolitan Opera). There were also performances by “Synergy Brass,” “Army Blues” jazz ensemble, and “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band.
For more information about the National Trumpet Competition please visit:
