TCU gained a soundtrack March 13-16, as trumpeters from across the nation warmed up around the campus to prepare for the National Trumpet Competition (NTC). 

The event, wrapped up Sunday, March 16, featured over 1,000 trumpet players, from high schoolers to graduate-level performers, professionals and educators.  

First-year TCU trumpet player Dhruv Patel competed in the solo competition.  

Patel performed on Friday, March 14 in the Van Cliburn Concert Hall in front of many of his music education peers. They nodded their heads in approval as his trumpeting filled the concert hall. He advanced to the semi-finals, but his run in NTC ended there.  

The competition consisted of ensemble performances, a solo competition, a military band audition and a solo jazz competition.   

The top three in each category won prize money.  

TCU hosted the event after the NTC board approached Jon Burgess, a TCU trumpet professor. The competition wanted to utilize the Music Center, the Van Cliburn Concert Hall and the Walsh and Ed Landreth buildings. 

Blake Crosslin, a junior music education major, was responsible for setting up the first day of the competition and finding volunteers to work the event.  

Crosslin also put together a small ensemble to compete in the competition. It included fellow TCU trumpets Cole Follett, Patel, Manny Arellano and Ethan Vinson.  

The group met one to two times weekly in the fall until their recording session in December, Crosslin said. Once they advanced to the quarterfinals, the group began practicing two to three times a week for two hours.  

Crosslin said it was a huge time commitment and described it as a difficult process because of the long hours spent practicing individually and the late nights they spent rehearsing together. 

Although the ensemble didn’t advance further in NTC, Crosslin said it taught him to be a better musician, leader and team player.

The competition ended with an awards ceremony during which TCU’s trumpet studio received a round of applause and a special thank you from the competition organizers for their help. 

Next, TCU will host the prestigious CBDNA (College Band Directors National Association) National Conference from March 26-29.