Brandon Ridenour

Brandon Ridenour is a stylistically diverse trumpet soloist, collaborative artist, composer, and arranger. He began learning about the wonders of music at age five, studying piano under the tutelage of his father. He then picked up the trumpet in fifth-grade band class in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Upon graduating from The Juilliard School, he immediately began touring with the Canadian Brass and embarked on a solo career, winning competitions including the International Trumpet Guild Solo Competition and American Composers Forum. In 2014, he became the first trumpeter to win the competition in 30 years the Concert Artist Guild competition. He has worked with a diverse array of musicians including Sting, James Taylor, Marvin Hamlisch, Yo-Yo Ma, Esperanza Spalding, Bruce Cockburn, Caroline Shaw, Vienna Teng, and esteemed ensembles including the New York Philharmonic, International Contemporary Ensemble, the Knights, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, and Ymusic. He’s been a featured soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and others. In 2023, Brandon joined the American Brass Quintet and The Juilliard School faculty in New York City, where he is also on the faculty of the New School and Manhattan School of Music, where he is passionate about developing a new model of education for the well-rounded, progressive musician of the future.