During the fall of 2015, three collegiate trumpet professors in western Pennsylvania were searching for a creative way to present recitals to their respective college communities. These three musicians came together to perform a recital of music for trumpet trio, and the Northwest Passage Trumpet Trio was born. The group is comprised of Jennifer Dearden, Associate Professor of Music at Allegheny College, Andrew Erb, Director of Bands at Grove City College, and Timothy Winfield, Assistant Professor of Music at Westminster College (PA). While seeking out compositions to perform on their initial recital, they found that the amount of literature written specifically for trumpet trio was small in comparison to that of other chamber ensembles. They decided to commit themselves to commissioning new works for trumpet trio, while also performing existing high-quality trio repertoire. Their first commission was written by Brazilian composer, Fernando Deddos, and in May of 2019 they premiered Joseph Hasper’s Trumpet Concertutti for trumpet trio and wind ensemble. The trio is dedicated to exposing a variety of audiences to a vast array of music through live performance, while providing those audiences with educational insights into the music they experience. They are also committed to commissioning/performing new music that will advance the genre of trumpet trio within the musical community. The Northwest Passage Trumpet Trio also believes it is of the utmost importance to continue to perform high quality, historically proven trumpet trio literature. Since its inception, the trio has performed in numerous venues across Western Pennsylvania.
