Festival of New Trumpet Music

The Festival of New Trumpet Music (FONT Music) supports new trumpet music in all forms, and provides a platform for emerging artists and creative pioneers. FONT Music is a nonprofit organization founded by Dave Douglas. The executive board is made up of co-founder Dave Douglas, Vice President Stephanie Richards and Secretary Aaron Shragge. In addition to promoting new works and artists, the Festival aims to promote opportunity, encourage diversity, and enable community for and among trumpet players and those with whom they work. The Festival’s work is centered on the production of a two- to three-week festival of concerts and workshops held annually in New York City in September, as well as off-season and satellite events, and collaborative artist services. FONT also gives its Award of Recognition to a distinguished trumpet player who has made an important contribution to the instrument.

Through programming and educational events, FONT Music strives towards three main goals:

• Celebrating and promoting the diversity of contemporary music related to the trumpet by presenting the broadest possible idea of what a trumpet player can do.

• Confronting and challenging traditional boundaries of gender, race, and culture in the music field by presenting the broadest possible idea of who a trumpet player can be.

• Supporting emerging artists and creative pioneers through concerts, commissions, and other opportunities.

The first Festival of New Trumpet Music took place at the downtown music venue Tonic in August 2003 and presented 40 performances featuring trumpeters representing the worlds of jazz, new music, free form, hip hop, rock, improvisational, and classical.

The following year the festival expanded to include other venues such as the New York Bahá'í Center (where Mike Longo holds Jazz sessions in honor of Dizzy Gillespie), The 14th Street Y, and Makor. The second festival featured the trumpeter/composer Bill Dixon, as well as performances by the 22-member "Trumpet Nation" led by Butch Morris.

The third annual FONT Music, held in August 2005, featured a week-long celebration of Lester Bowie at the Jazz Standard and an expansion of educational and performance opportunities for students and emerging artists alike. In addition, Jon Nelson joined Dave Douglas and Roy Campbell, Jr. as co-directors of the festival and oversaw the creation of an advisory board.

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