Raymond Dominick Crisara (October 19, 1920 – May 25, 2014) was an American trumpeter and

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

. He was the principal trumpet with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra from 1941 to 1943. He was associate first trumpet with the

NBC Symphony The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ar ...

from 1946 to 1954. He was Professor of Trumpet at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

from 1978 to 2001.

Early life

Raymond Dominick Crisara was born in Cortland, New York, the son of Frank and Margaret Crisara.

Education

Raymond Crisara was a student at the Ernest Williams School of Music from 1937 to 1940. He then moved to the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

as a student and teaching assistant under Dr.

William Revelli William D. Revelli (February 12, 1902 – July 16, 1994) was an American music educator and conductor best known for his association with the University of Michigan, where he directed the university's bands including the Michigan Marching Ban ...

from 1940 to 1941.

Performance career

Raymont Crisara's first major professional gig came as a cornet soloist with The

Goldman Band The Goldman Band was an American concert band founded in 1918 by Edwin Franko Goldman from his previous New York Military Band. Both bands were based in New York City. It was Goldman's contention that the New York symphony and orchestra musici ...

, replacing Frank Elsass. In the summer of 1941, Crisara, aged 19, auditioned for and was awarded the position of Principal Trumpet with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. In December 1942, Crisara was drafted into the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. After his release from the

in 1946, Crisara became associate 1st/3rd trumpet with the

under

Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orch ...

, a position he held through 1954 when the orchestra was disbanded. He was an in demand studio musician, recording with

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and musician. One of the most successful and widely known Rock music, rock stars of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and "electric" stage ...

, and

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...

. He performed for

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

and

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli is among a rare group of performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy ...

Television shows

*'' Wide, Wide World'' with Dave Garroway *''The

Jack Parr Jack Parr (March 13, 1936 – January 4, 2015) was an American professional basketball player. Parr was born in Louisville, Kentucky. He played college basketball at Kansas State University. Kansas State retired his jersey, and his number 33 ...

Show'' *'' The Dick Cavett Show'' *'' The Perry Como Show''

Recordings

* ''

Victory at Sea ''Victory at Sea'' is a documentary television series about warfare in general during World War II, and naval warfare in particular, as well as the use of industry in warfare. It was originally broadcast by NBC in the United States in 1952–19 ...

'' (1955) CA Victor Red Seal LM 1779* '' The All-Star Concert Band'' (1960) olden Crest CR-4025* '' The Burke-Phillips All-Star Concert Band'' (1961) olden Crest CR-4040* '' Leroy Anderson Conducts Leroy Anderson'' (1954) CA 555ref> ''("Bugler's Holiday" trumpet trio with

James F. Burke (Musician) James Francis Burke (April 15, 1923 – June 26, 1981) was an American cornet soloist. He was the principal cornet soloist with the Goldman Band from 1943 to 1974. He was also the principal trumpet with The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra from 1943 ...

and John Ware)''

Faculty Positions

* University of Bridgeport 3 years *

NYU New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-United States Secretary of the Treasu ...

(adjunct professor) 6 years *

1978-2001

Awards

* American Bandmasters Association

External links

International Trumpet Guild Tribute Raymond CrisaraRaymond Crisara Teaching By Example

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crisara, Raymond 1920 births

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 ...

2014 deaths University of Michigan alumni University of Texas faculty United States Army personnel of World War II