Listen.
Articulate.
Collaborate.
The trifecta of excellent musicianship.
Listen:
Great musicians are defined by their listening skills. Excellent performers set their foundation not only through technical discipline, but through awareness of style, time, and the environment around them. From large orchestral solos to small chamber concerts, sensitive listening builds a strong connection to the craft. I guide my students in their listening journey by suggesting tracks and artists, and also by inviting them to record themselves, which encourages the development of their own positive feedback loop.
Articulate:
Articulation is at the center of both trumpet playing and musical communication. On the instrument, it requires clarity, control, breath, style, and the ability to make each note gleam. In teaching and collaboration, articulation also means expressing ideas clearly, asking better questions, responding thoughtfully, and communicating with professionalism. I help students build the vocabulary to play with precision and character while also developing the confidence to speak about music, receive feedback, and contribute meaningfully in professional settings.
Collaborate:
Music is connection. From brass quintets and orchestras, to clinics, camps, trumpet ensembles, and new works, collaboration has been central to my career as a performer and educator. I believe students grow most when they learn how to respond, prepare, communicate, and bring their best musicianship into shared spaces. My students arrive prepared. They listen beyond their own part. They arrive ready to understand how their sound contributes to the larger ensemble. They study great performers and rehearse with intention. They engage with ideas from outside the practice room: books on discipline, purpose, leadership, and personal accountability.
Robert M. Elliott
Rob Elliott is a freelance musician and a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Trumpet Performance Candidate at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. He recently served as the Graduate Teaching Assistant in Trumpet and Artistic Director/trumpet for the UNCG Brass Quintet. Elliott has held principal trumpet positions with both the UNCG Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble.
As a performer, Elliott has appeared with the North Carolina Brass Band, the Asheville Symphony, the Salisbury Symphony, the Greensboro Opera, the High Point Community Orchestra, the Moscow Royal Ballet, Pink Martini, the Lexington Brass Band, the Kentucky Opera Theatre, and the Bay View Chamber Music Festival. Rob has performed at The Midwest Clinic: International Band and Orchestra Conference, and has been featured soloist at state music conferences. Other honors include winner of the IWBC Mock Military Band Audition, prizewinner of the University of Kentucky Concerto Competition, and semifinalist at the National Trumpet Competition.
As a teacher, Elliott has coached and arranged music for numerous semifinalist trumpet ensembles in the National Trumpet Competition and has served on the faculties of the Carolina Band Festival, Summer Music Camp and the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. He enjoys being active as a clinician and private instructor at numerous middle and high schools across the country.
Elliott will receive his DMA in Trumpet Performance with a self-designed cognate in Music Technology in May 2020. His dissertation, Enhancing the Modern Trumpeter: A Study Through Extended Techniques focuses on combining music technology and extended techniques in innovative new works for trumpet maximizing the abilities of the performer. Previously, Elliott was awarded a Master’s Degree in Trumpet Performance and a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from the University of Kentucky. Elliott’s primary instructors include Mark Clodfelter, Vince DiMartino, Dr. Jason Dovel, Dr. Michael Tunnell, and Joseph Van Fleet.
DMA (abd.) Trumpet Performance (2020)
MM Trumpet Performance (2014)
BS Trumpet Performance & Music Education (2012)
