1. Kansas State University
  2. »Division of Communications and Marketing
  3. »K-State Today
  4. »Trumpet superstar Allen Vizzutti returns to K-State

K-State Today

October 9, 2017

Trumpet superstar Allen Vizzutti returns to K-State

Submitted by Craig B. Parker

Allen Vizzutti, one of the world's most versatile and awe-inspiring trumpeters, will be guest soloist with the K-State Wind Ensemble, conducted by Frank Tracz, at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 11, in McCain Auditorium.

Vizzutti will perform his 2016 composition, "Three World Winds," as well as "The Carnival of Venice" by the late Del Staigers, legendary cornet soloist with The Goldman Band. Other compositions on that concert will be "Ignatian Fanfare" by John Bourgeois; "Sanctuary" by Frank Ticheli; "Vou Me Embora," a concerto for berimbau, an Afro-Brazilian single-string percussion instrument by Gregory Beyer, with the composer as soloist; and "Spanish Dance" by Dmitri Shostakovich. This concert is free and open to the public.

On Wednesday, Oct. 11, in 201 McCain Auditorium, Vizzutti will speak to K-State students about his varied career as a trumpeter and composer at 9:30 a.m. and will work with K-State student trumpeters in a master class at 12:30 p.m. These events are free and open to the public. In addition, Vizzutti will hold a seminar for K-State student composers.

Called "the best trumpeter of all time" by none other than Doc Severinsen, Vizzutti's varied career includes positions with the world-renowned Eastman Brass Quintet — while a student at the Eastman School of Music, the Rochester Philharmonic, Chuck Mangione Orchestra, Woody Herman and his Young Thundering Herd, Chick Corea's jazz-rock ensemble, and the NBC "Tonight Show" Band. While living in Los Angeles during the 1980s, he recorded more than 150 motion picture scores for such films as "Back to the Future," "Rocky II," and "Star Trek," as well as countless television shows, commercials and albums with such artists as Neil Diamond, Prince, Frank Sinatra and Barbra Streisand. Vizzutti has recorded a dozen solo albums, exhibiting his versatility in repertoire ranging from Baroque piccolo trumpet showpieces to jazz and contemporary albums featuring his own compositions. Vizzutti has performed in every state in the union as well as in 60 countries and at prestigious venues such as the Banff Center for the Performing Arts, Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, Lincoln Center, the Newport Jazz Festival and the Montreux Jazz Festival. He was named a recipient of the International Trumpet Guild's Honorary Award — that organization's most prestigious honor — in 2017.

In addition to composing numerous trumpet solos, Vizzutti also has written solo pieces and chamber music for a variety of other instruments, jazz ensemble pieces, orchestral music and works for wind ensemble. He is the author of one of the standard pedagogical works for his instrument, "The Allen Vizzutti Trumpet Method," as well as numerous other jazz and classical method books and play-along recordings. Vizzutti has taught at a variety of institutions in Canada, Germany, and the U. S. — including Kansas State University, where he was the featured composer and performer at the 1992 Panorama of American Music. He was awarded the esteemed Yamaha Legacy in Education award in 2017 in recognition of his extraordinary service to and impact on the field of education.

Sponsors for Vizzutti's residency at K-State include the Kansas State University Bands, the Yamaha Corporation, Kappa Kappa Psi, Tau Beta Sigma, Phi Mu Alph and the K-State Trumpet Studio. Vizzutti is a Yamaha performing artist.