James George Stamp (20 December 1904 – 22 December 1985) was an American professional musician.

Background

Stamp was a professional musician from the age of 16, starting in the Mayo Clinic Band at

Rochester, Minnesota Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota, the city is the home and birthplace of the renowned Mayo Clinic. Acco ...

. After having played in different Minneapolis theatres he was asked to play 4th trumpet in the

Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded originally as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, the Minnesota Orchestra plays most of its concerts at Minneapolis's Orchestra Hall. History Em ...

. Playing 4th trumpet didn't allow for enough performances and the first trumpet player treated him like a valet. Later, after an argument with the 1st trumpet he was asked to play the 1st part on the Brahms 2nd Symphony while on tour to Cincinnati. He was then given a contract as 1st trumpet for the next season immediately after the concert. James Stamp held a position with the

for 17 years playing

Trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

under conductors such as

Henri Verbrugghen Henri Adrien Marie Verbrugghen (1 August 187312 November 1934) was a Belgian musician, who directed orchestras in England, Scotland, Australia and the United States. Born in Brussels, Verbrugghen made his first appearance as a violinist when o ...

Eugene Ormandy Eugene Ormandy (born Jenő Blau; November 18, 1899 – March 12, 1985) was a Hungarian-born American conductor and violinist, best known for his association with the Philadelphia Orchestra, as its music director. His 44-year association wit ...

and his favorite

Dimitri Mitropoulos Dimitri Mitropoulos ( el, Δημήτρης Μητρόπουλος; The dates 18 February 1896 and 1 March 1896 both appear in the literature. Many of Mitropoulos's early interviews and program notes gave 18 February. In his later interviews, howe ...

. Later after

left the Orchestra and

became conductor the orchestra's finances were not very good. So, in 1944 he decided to sell his house and move to California. Mitropoulos tried to talk him out of leaving, but the house was already sold and he had made his decision. Stamp relocated to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, where he was immediately asked to play in studio orchestras in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

, as well as radio and television programs. He suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

in 1954, after which he devoted more time to teaching. He wrote an instructional book, ''Warm-ups + Studies'' which was first published in 1978. He died on December 22, 1985. Thomas Stevens, former Principal Trumpeter of the

Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...

said, ''"I believe James Stamp was one of the finest teachers in the world. His approach was so flexible that I have never seen him fail to improve a player, whether it be an established symphony musician, jazz or lead player or a twelve-year-old student."''

Bibliography

* ''Warm-ups + Studies: trumpet & other brass instruments in treble clef, CD in C and Bflat'' (1995)

Articles

Articles in the Brass Bulletin, International Magazine for Brass Players: * Brass Bulletin 39, III-1982 (p. 14-21), Alfred Willener, Subtle Teaching * Brass Bulletin 53, I-1986 (p. 3-4), Jean-Pierre Mathez/Thomas Stevens, Editorial "Homage to James Stamp" * Brass Bulletin 100, IV-1997 (p. 59-65), Jean-Christophe Wiener, James Stamp, Master in Listening part 1

References

External links

James Stamp, Warm-ups and Studies for trumpet at Editions Bim

James Stamp: Practical Hints
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stamp, James American trumpeters American male trumpeters 1985 deaths 1904 births 20th-century American musicians 20th-century trumpeters 20th-century American male musicians