Join us in the Trumpet Shop on February 1, 2024 for an evening of music with Rex Richardson & Riley Helgeson!
The Trumpet Shop at Schmitt Music Bloomington invites trumpet players of all ages and abilities to an evening with internationally acclaimed artists Rex Richardson and Riley Helgeson. The evening will include masterclasses and recitals with two renowned clinicians. You won't want to miss it!
- 3-3:45 PM Warm Up Session with Dr. Ben Elgan
- 4:15-5:15 PM Masterclass with Riley Helgeson
- 5:15-6 PM Shop hour with representatives from XO Brass and Yamaha
- 6-7 PM Masterclass with Rex Richardson
- 7-8 PM Rex Richardson Recital
Rex Richardson is a Yamaha artist and professor of trumpet for Virginia Commonwealth University, as well as a sought after clinician and educator. Riley Helgeson is an XO artist, local performer, and Jazz Program Director for the Shell Lake Arts Center. If you would like to participate in either of these masterclasses as a performer, please let us know via email at trumpetshop@schmittmusic.com
"A startling display of virtuosity...This was something very different, played by a performer of rare gifts indeed." -- 4barsRest.com, in a review of Rex Richardson's performance at the 2013 World Music Championship in Kerkrade, Netherlands
Renowned as champion of new, genre-busting music featuring the trumpet as a solo voice, Yamaha Performing Artist was named the 2008 Brass Herald International Personality of the Year, has been called “One of the finest virtuosos of our time” (Brass Herald, 2018).
A veteran of the acclaimed chamber ensemble Rhythm & Brass, jazz legend Joe Henderson's Quintet and Sextet, William Russo's Chicago Jazz Ensemble, and the world-renowned Brass Band of Battle Creek, his hundreds of soloist appearances include festivals and ensembles on six continents, such as the Phoenix Symphony and Thailand Philharmonic Orchestras, the U.S. Army Field Band and Tokyo Symphonic Winds, England's Fodens Brass Band, and the U.S. Air Force's Airmen of Note Jazz Ensemble.
His latest CD Freedom of Movement: 21st Century Trumpet Concertos was released to critical and public acclaim, and named a top-ten finalist for 4barsrest.com’s 2018 Solo CD of the Year. The Journal of the International Trumpet Guild called it “A triumph of virtuosity and musicianship”(March, 2019).
Richardson has taught at Virginia Commonwealth University since 2002, served as International Tutor in Trumpet at England’s Royal Northern College of Music from 2012-2015 and at Austria’s JAM Music Lab University since 2018.
Riley Helgeson is a freelance trumpet player and composer based in Minneapolis/Saint Paul, MN.
Helgeson has toured North America and Europe with Sonny Knight and the Lakers, Friendly Fires (UK), and his own project, McNasty Brass Band. He has also performed on ABC’s “Shark Tank,” with Minneapolis-based McNasty Brass Band. His performances have been broadcast on MPR, The Current, and "The Lowertown Line" at Twin Cities PBS.
He has had the honor to perform with O.A.R., PJ Morton, Marie Osmond, Stokely, Fred Wesley, and John “Jabo” Starks.
Other notable performances include shows at the Ordway Center for Performing Arts (MN), Fitzgerald Theater (MN), the Armory (MN), First Avenue (MN), the Fonda Theater (Los Angeles), The Fillmore (San Francisco), Monterey Jazz Festival (CA), Rochester Jazz Festival (NY), Saratoga Springs Jazz Festival (NY), Twin Cities Jazz Festival (MN), Winnipeg Jazz Festival (MB), and Pori Jazz Festival (Finland).
Riley serves as the Jazz Program Director for the Shell Lake Arts Center (WI), the oldest jazz camp in the world. He also maintains a private trumpet studio in the Twin Cities, and is trumpet faculty at Century College.
Riley Helgeson is an XO Brass artist.
Interested in attending? RSVP today!
