In Focus: Dallas Symphony Principal Trumpet Stuart Stephenson

In Monday’s (1/6) Lake Highlands Advocate (Dallas, Texas), Aysia Lane writes, “There are 93 full-time musicians that are a part of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. One is our neighbor: Stuart Stephenson, DSO Principal Trumpet, of Merriman Park. Stephenson: Before joining the Dallas Symphony, I was part of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for nine years…. I started [playing trumpet] in fifth grade, when everyone begins in band, and never looked back…. My favorite thing about the trumpet is the attention it can command, and the versatility of it—from Baroque piccolo playing, to jazz and Latin music, to orchestral playing…. [I would tell young musicians that] the road is not easy, even for the most talented…. There are so many great players out there all vying for the same jobs. Keep your head down and keep grinding away until you get to where you want to be…. The applause that the [DSO] trumpet section or brass section receives when we stand at the end of a piece with great brass playing is hard to beat…. I teach students all throughout the country, and I love seeing those players do exciting things with their lives, be it winning auditions and landing jobs, or starting solo/chamber careers, or becoming fantastic teachers.”