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Spencer Ludwig (born 24 June 1990) is an American trumpeter, singer, songwriter, producer and musical director from
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, California. Ludwig is the trumpet player of the band
Capital Cities A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, Department (country subdivision), department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city ...
. He recorded on their platinum debut album ''
In a Tidal Wave of Mystery ''In a Tidal Wave of Mystery'' is the debut studio album of American indie pop duo Capital Cities, released on June 4, 2013, under Capitol Records. Background and production Ryan Merchant and Sebu Simonian worked as jingle writers for various co ...
'' and toured with them from 2011 to 2015. He has also performed with
Harry Styles Harry Edward Styles (born 1 February 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. His musical career began in 2010 as a solo contestant on the British music competition series ''The X Factor (UK TV series), The X Factor''. Following hi ...
,
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, Gallant,
Mike Posner Michael Robert Henrion Posner ( ; born February 12, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer.For Posner's full name, see He released his debut album, '' 31 Minutes to Takeoff'', in 2010. The album includes the US ''Billboa ...
,
Foster the People Foster the People is an American indie pop band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 2009. Its members are singer Mark Foster, guitarist Sean Cimino, and keyboardist Isom Innis. Foster founded the band in 2009 after spending several years in ...
, Portugal. The Man,
Fitz and the Tantrums Fitz and the Tantrums are an American indie pop and neo soul band from Los Angeles, California, that formed in 2008. The band consists of Michael Fitzpatrick (lead vocals), Noelle Scaggs (co-lead vocals and percussion), James King (saxophone, ...
, RAC,
Joywave Joywave is an American indie rock band from Rochester, New York, formed in 2010. Their lineup consists of Daniel Armbruster (vocals), Joseph Morinelli (guitar), and Paul Brenner (drums). The band first became known for its collaboration with ele ...
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St. Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerin ...
,
Cherub A cherub (; plural cherubim; he, כְּרוּב ''kərūḇ'', pl. ''kərūḇīm'', likely borrowed from a derived form of akk, 𒅗𒊏𒁍 ''karabu'' "to bless" such as ''karibu'', "one who blesses", a name for the lamassu) is one of the u ...
, and
The Wailers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
. In 2018 he began his career as an independent artist and forme
Trumpet Records


Early life and education

Ludwig is the son of a Filipino mother and a
Russian-Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...
father. He grew up in Los Angeles, California. He attended Oakwood School and began playing
saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...
in the fourth grade due to his school's support for performing arts. Ludwig grew fond of jazz music and performed in the school's jazz band during his middle school years. Ludwig learned to play the
French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most ...
in high school but decided to apply to college as a trumpet player. He started off by teaching himself how to play the trumpet going into his senior year of high school. He was accepted to
California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...
where he studied jazz. He supported his way through school by playing with local bands from Los Angeles and teaching trumpet part-time at his former high school.


Career

Ludwig was part of the local Los Angeles music scene, performing with numerous bands. /sup> He began performing while in college, forming a cover band with friends that graduated from Oakwood School a few years before him. /sup> It was in 2011 that Ludwig got his break with Capital Cities. /sup> While playing at a local music festival with a band called Sister Rogers in 2011, Capital Cities band members Ryan Merchant and Sebu Simonian watched him perform, later asking him to join the group as its trumpet player. /sup> /sup> Ludwig shifted his focus to solely playing with the band and recorded and toured with them for the next four years. /sup> He recorded trumpet on the group's platinum debut album
In a Tidal Wave of Mystery ''In a Tidal Wave of Mystery'' is the debut studio album of American indie pop duo Capital Cities, released on June 4, 2013, under Capitol Records. Background and production Ryan Merchant and Sebu Simonian worked as jingle writers for various co ...
. /sup> In 2015 Ludwig signed a record deal with
Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
as a solo artist. /sup> In July 2016 he released his first two singles ''Diggy'' and ''Right Into U''. /sup> The song "Diggy" was featured in Target's fall style TV campaign, which premiered on September 14, 2016. /sup> "Diggy" also appeared in the feature film "Happy Death Day" and the video game ''
Just Dance 2018 ''Just Dance 2018'' is a 2017 dance rhythm game developed and published by Ubisoft. It was unveiled on June 12, 2017, during its E3 press conference as the ninth main installment of the series, and was released in October 2017 for PlayStation 3, ...
''. In 2018 Ludwig left Warner Bros. Records to pursue a career as an independent artist and to form his own record labe
Trumpet Records
In March 2018 he released his first single as an independent artist "Just Wanna Dance" and he collaborated with five-time Latin Grammy winner Fonseca on his song "Por Pura Curiosidad", which was featured on his album Agustín and earned a Latin Grammy in 2019 for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. In 2017 in front of 46,556 fans, he performed the national anthem on trumpet at the
2017 NHL Winter Classic The 2017 NHL Winter Classic (officially the 2017 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic) was an outdoor regular season National Hockey League (NHL) game, part of the Winter Classic series, played on January 2, 2017. The game featured the St. Louis Blue ...
at
Busch Stadium Busch Stadium (also referred to informally as "New Busch Stadium" or "Busch Stadium III") is a baseball stadium located in St. Louis, Missouri. The stadium serves as the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) f ...
in
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
featuring the
Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...
and
St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...
(a first for the Winter Classic). That same year he became the official band leader and musical director for the annual NFL Honors Awards and in 2021 he became the musical director for the
ESPY Awards An ESPY Award (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award) is an accolade currently presented by the American broadcast television network ABC, and previously ESPN (as of the 2017 ESPY Awards the latter still airs them in the form ...
.


Discography


Solo Releases


Songwriting, recording and production credits


References


External links


Official website of Spencer LudwigTV Spot, "Vibes, Target Style"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ludwig, Spencer Living people American trumpeters American male trumpeters California Institute of the Arts alumni Musicians from Los Angeles Warner Records artists 1990 births 21st-century trumpeters 21st-century American male musicians