Armando Ghitalla (June 1, 1925 – 14 December 2001) was an American

orchestral An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ce ...

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 ...

er. He studied at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely ...

, and performed in the

New York City Opera The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through 2013 (when it filed for bankruptcy), and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, du ...

, the

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company ...

, and the

Houston Symphony The Houston Symphony is an American orchestra based in Houston, Texas. The orchestra is resident at the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts. History The first concert of what was to become the Houston Symphony took place on June 21, ...

. He was a member of the

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 18 ...

for 28 years, and served as principal trumpet (succeeding Roger Voisin) for fifteen. He was also active as a soloist, and was the first trumpeter to record the Trumpet Concerto in E by

Johann Nepomuk Hummel Johann Nepomuk Hummel (14 November 177817 October 1837) was an Austrian composer and virtuoso pianist. His music reflects the transition from the Classical to the Romantic musical era. He was a pupil of Mozart, Salieri and Clementi. He als ...

. Ghitalla was born in Alpha, Illinois, and his family moved to

Knoxville, Illinois Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Illinois, Knox County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,911 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Galesburg, Illinois, Galesburg Galesburg micropolitan area, Micropolitan Statistical Area. Descripti ...

, shortly after he was born. At age 8, he decided he wanted to play the trumpet. He graduated from Knoxville High School in 1942 and enrolled at Illinois Wesleyan University. He entered the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

a year later. He played trumpet in a Navy dance band and never went overseas. After the war, he used the G.I. Bill to enroll in

Juilliard School of Music The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

in New York City. He served on the faculties of

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original cam ...

, the

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music Music school, conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The ...

, the

Hartt School of Music The Hartt School is the comprehensive performing arts conservatory of the University of Hartford located in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States, that offers degree programs in music, dance, and theatre. Founded in 1920 by Julius Hartt and ...

at the

University of Hartford The University of Hartford (UHart) is a private university in West Hartford, Connecticut. Its main campus extends into neighboring Hartford and Bloomfield. The university attracts students from 48 states and 43 countries. The university and ...

, the

Tanglewood Music Center The Tanglewood Music Center is an annual summer music academy in Lenox, Massachusetts, United States, in which emerging professional musicians participate in performances, master classes and workshops. The center operates as a part of the Tanglew ...

and 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 ...

. At the time of his death, he was on the faculty of the

Shepherd School of Music The Shepherd School of Music is a music school located on the campus of Rice University in Houston, Texas. From its inception in 1974Ericson, R."Unafraid, a New Music School Opens; NOT JUST MOSTLY MOZART" ''The New York Times'', March 10, 1974, ...

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

. A CD of his final recordings was released by

Bridge Records Bridge Records is an independent record label that specializes in classical music located in New Rochelle, New York. History A classical guitarist, David Starobin recorded the Boccherini Guitar Quintet in E minor in the 1970s. This was his first ...

in August 2007. It includes concertos by William P. Perry,

Amilcare Ponchielli Amilcare Ponchielli (, ; 31 August 1834 – 16 January 1886) was an Italian opera composer, best known for his opera ''La Gioconda''. He was married to the soprano Teresina Brambilla. Life and work Born in Paderno Fasolaro (now Paderno Ponchiell ...

Johann Melchior Molter Johann Melchior Molter (10 February 1696 – 12 January 1765) was a German composer and violinist of the late Baroque period. He was born at Tiefenort, near Eisenach, and was educated at the Gymnasium in Eisenach. By autumn 1717 he had le ...

and Oskar Böhme. Mr. Ghitalla was a great mentor to many trumpeters including

Rolf Smedvig Rolf Thorstein Smedvig (September 23, 1952 – April 27, 2015) was an American classical trumpeter. He was the founder of the Empire Brass Quintet. He is renowned for his exemplary tone and accurate intonation. Biography Rolf Smedvig was born in ...

Wynton Marsalis Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, teacher, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has promoted classical and jazz music, often to young audiences. Marsalis has won nine Grammy Award ...

, Raymond Mase and countless others. Mr. Ghitalla's characteristic way of single tonguing was called "anchor tonguing" and was very similar to the tonguing style called "K Tongue Modified" by

Claude Gordon Claude Eugene Gordon (April 5, 1916 - May 16, 1996), nicknamed the "King of Brass", was an American trumpet player, band director, educator, lecturer and writer. Life Claude Gordon was born on April 5, 1916 in Helena, Montana. His father, James Au ...

and used by

Herbert L. Clarke Herbert Lincoln Clarke (September 12, 1867 – January 30, 1945) was an American cornetist, feature soloist, bandmaster, and composer. He is considered the most prominent cornetist of his time. Clarke's legacy includes composing a portion of th ...

. Armando Ghitalla also tutored the Jazz and rock trumpeter

Bill Chase Bill Chase (October 20, 1934 – August 9, 1974) was an American trumpeter and leader of the jazz-rock band Chase. Biography Bill Chase was born William Edward Chiaiese on October 20, 1934, to an Italian-American family in Squantum, Massac ...

References

External links

International Trumpet Guild — Ghitalla Obituary
American trumpeters American male trumpeters Juilliard School alumni Boston University faculty New England Conservatory faculty University of Hartford Hartt School faculty University of Michigan faculty Rice University faculty 2001 deaths 1925 births 20th-century American musicians 20th-century trumpeters 20th-century American male musicians {{US-trumpeter-stub