David Bilger, Billy Hunter, and Anthony Prisk will team-teach trumpet students.
Renowned trumpeters David Bilger, Billy Hunter, and Anthony Prisk will join the faculty of the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University beginning in the 2019-20 academic year. Each an acclaimed performer in his own right, their team approach to leading the Peabody trumpet studio will offer students the opportunity to learn from three master teachers.
Hailed by The New York Times for his playing of “easy brilliance,” David Bilger has held the position of principal trumpet of The Philadelphia Orchestra since 1995. Prior to joining the orchestra, he held the same position with the Dallas Symphony. As a soloist, Bilger has appeared with The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, the Oakland Symphony, the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia Virtuosi of New York, and others. His chamber music appearances include the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, with which he recorded Bach’s Second Brandenburg Concerto, as well as recordings and performances with the National Brass Ensemble, Chamber Music Northwest, the New York Trumpet Ensemble, and Saint Luke’s Chamber Ensemble. Currently on the music faculties of the Curtis Institute of Music, Northwestern University, and Temple University, Bilger was formerly a faculty member of the Hugh Hodgson School of Music at the University of Georgia. He has performed master classes at dozens of institutions, including The Juilliard School of Music, Indiana University, the University of Michigan, the Manhattan School of Music, and the Peabody Conservatory. He has also taught at the Pacific Music Festival, the National Orchestral Institute, the Aspen Music Festival and School, and most recently at the Hamamatsu International Festival and Academy. A Yamaha Artist, Bilger holds a Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School of Music and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Illinois.
Principal trumpet of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra since 2004, Billy Hunter has appeared as guest principal trumpet with The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Malaysian Philharmonic, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, the Spoleto Festival Orchestra, the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, and the Chineke! Orchestra in London. He has performed with the New York Philharmonic, New Jersey, Dallas, and Boston symphonies, and his previous positions include principal trumpet, second trumpet, and third associate trumpet with the New World, Baltimore, and Grant Park symphonies respectively. As a chamber musician, Hunter has concertized with the MET Chamber Ensemble; Prometheus and Classical Tahoe Chamber Orchestras; Stellenbosch International, Martha’s Vineyard, and Walla Walla Chamber Music Festivals; and with the Music Kitchen concert series which features free lunchtime performances for homeless shelters across Manhattan. He has appeared as a soloist and recitalist across the United States, Europe, and Asia, and won two Grammy Awards for playing in MET Opera performances of John Adams Doctor Atomic and Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle. Hunter has given master classes at the Curtis Institute, The Juilliard School, and Stellenbosch University in South Africa, among others. A frequent coach for the New York Youth Symphony and the National Youth Orchestra, he is on faculty at NJCU and the Manhattan School of Music. Hunter holds a Bachelor of Music in trumpet performance from University of Texas, Austin, and a Master of Music in trumpet performance from The Juilliard School. His teachers were Raymond Crisara, Raymond Mase, and Mark Gould.
Anthony Prisk joined The Philadelphia Orchestra as second trumpet in August 2013; previously he was a member of the Houston Symphony for 11 seasons. He has performed internationally with orchestras and music festivals including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Grant Park Festival Orchestra, the Montreal Symphony, the Boston Symphony, the Moscow Philharmonic, and the New World Symphony. Winner of two international trumpet competitions through the International Trumpet Guild, Prisk has attended the Tanglewood Music Center, the Pacific Music Festival, the Music Academy of the West, the Spoleto Festival, the Cabrillo Music Festival, and the Aspen Music Festival. He can be heard on recordings with the Houston Symphony, the New World Symphony, the Spoleto Festival Orchestra, and the McGill Symphony. His teaching and community outreach work include participation in the Fidelity Future Stage program, bringing instrumental music instruction to inner city schools. He has served on the faculty at the University of Houston and presented master classes at the New World Symphony, the University of Texas, Baylor University, Bowling Green State University, Northwestern University, and Iowa State University, among others. Prisk received his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Illinois, where he studied with Ray Sasaki and Michael Ewald. He earned his Master of Music degree at McGill University, studying orchestral repertoire with Paul Merkelo, and completed a fellowship with the New World Symphony. His teachers include Michael Sachs, Adolf Herseth, David Bilger, Mark Gould, and John Hagstrom.
Bilger, Hunter, and Prisk will succeed longtime faculty artist and former member of the Canadian Brass Joe Burgstaller. Under Burgstaller’s leadership, the trumpet studio at Peabody has become known for its focus on holistic artistic development, preparing students for success in today’s music world. They join a diverse roster of artist-faculty colleagues charged with implementation of the Peabody Conservatory’s new Breakthrough Curriculum in Performing Arts Leadership, a model at the forefront of arts training in the United States. The Breakthrough Curriculum is designed to help students develop skills in performance excellence, career development, and citizen artistry to meet the demands of today’s ever-changing musical landscape. This includes a reimagined instrumental ensembles program in which students move through a rotation of varied ensemble experiences to ensure musical flexibility and training across a range of performing contexts, musical styles, and ensemble configurations.
