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Trumpet studio wins BIG at National Trumpet Competition
Photo: The College of Music’s history-making, all-female trumpet ensemble (left to right): Master’s students Leilani Spurlock (MM ’26) and Sydney Hoehl (MM ’26), Professor of Trumpet Ryan Gardner, and undergraduates Elise Ehlert (BME ’26), Katherine Votruba (BME ’28) and Gwen Milette (BM/BME ’27).

Congratulations to Professor of Trumpet Ryan Gardner, Associate Teaching Professor of Collaborative Piano Suyeon Kim and the entire CU Boulder trumpet studio for advancing to the live rounds and competing at the 2025 National Trumpet Competition! The studio’s tremendous success included several top-place finishes, a sweep of the Graduate Division and our all-female ensemble winning first place in the Small Ensemble Division. This represents a monumental success for the studio and an historic “first” in the competition.��

“Our students inspire me with their artistry, musicianship and execution,” says Gardner.��

Grants support student projects promoting equity and wellness
Jan. 17, 2025
By Kathryn Bistodeau��

At the CU Boulder College of Music, student ingenuity and creativity know no bounds. Two graduate students—Nicholas Felder, a DMA student in music composition and Ian Gunnarschja, a master’s student in saxophone performance and pedagogy—received grants supporting their innovative projects advancing equity in music and wellness among neurodiverse musicians, respectively. Note: In November 2024, as part of the Museum of Boulder’s Proclaiming Colorado’s Black History interactive exhibit, “Con-nect” featured Nicholas Felder.

Musicology doctoral candidate explores new research in Japan thanks to CAAAS Graduate Student Fellowship
Dec. 11, 2024

“Motivated by the interdisciplinary approach to musicological studies at the ��������, my pursuit of new knowledge and the invaluable guidance of my advisor, Dr. Austin Okigbo, who encouraged me to explore new frontiers, I began to explore new and unresearched areas of African cultural expressions,” says musicology PhD student Ubochi Igbokwe. [...] “My research aims to illuminate the patterns of African migrations in the 20th/21st centuries and their influence on the global dissemination of music and expressive cultural forms.”

Alan Mackwell (DMA, music composition), a student of Professor of Composition + Composition Chair Carter Pann, is a winner of the��.

Corey Nance (MM ’26, trombone) is serving on the International Trombone Festival's new Student Advisory Board.����

Ethan Stahl (DMA ’26) won second place in the piano division of the Naftzger Young Artists Auditions and Awards.