PEYDEN SHELTON

Dr. J. Peyden Shelton is Associate Professor of Trumpet and Associate Director of Operations in the University of Utah School of Music. An active performer, educator, recording artist, and administrator, Shelton has developed a career that connects professional performance with the creation of new repertoire, student mentorship, and service to the trumpet community.

Shelton performs regularly with the Utah Symphony, appearing in masterworks, pops, educational, film, and summer programs at Abravanel Hall and the Deer Valley Music Festival. He has frequently served as principal and assistant principal trumpet and has performed with artists including Audra McDonald, Ben Folds, Leslie Odom Jr., Common, Cody Fry, and pianist Yefim Bronfman. He has also performed as principal trumpet with Ballet West and as guest principal trumpet with the Mobile Symphony. His orchestral experience includes performances with the Rochester Philharmonic, Syracuse Symphoria, Washington Concert Opera, New World Symphony, and numerous other professional ensembles.

As a commercial musician, Shelton has recorded extensively for film, television, video games, and other digital media. His studio work includes projects for ESPN college football broadcasts, STARZ’s Spartacus: House of Ashur, the Peacekeeper Elite video game, and numerous projects produced at Funk Studios and other recording facilities in Utah. These experiences inform his teaching and allow him to prepare students for the flexibility, efficiency, and stylistic range expected of today’s professional musicians.

Shelton’s creative research focuses on expanding the trumpet’s repertoire through commissioning, performance, and recording. His solo album, Blazing New Trails, was released by Summit Records in 2023 and features contemporary works developed through his Trumpet Repertoire Project. His recent discography also includes Here and Now: Trumpet Music by Virginia Composers, recorded with Jason Crafton and released by Blue Griffin Records in 2025, as well as 2026 releases with the Mirari Brass Quintet, Personality Test,  on Centaur Records and the electro-acoustic trumpet ensemble Fifth Bridge on Little Mystery Records. Through these projects, Shelton has helped introduce newly commissioned music to performers, teachers, students, and audiences while creating reference recordings that support the continued performance of these works.

As a soloist, Shelton has appeared at International Trumpet Guild Conferences, numerous music festivals, and numerous universities and performance venues throughout the United States. Recent performances have included Joseph Turrin’s Three Excursions, John Costa’s Front Runner, Michael Mikulka’s Trumpet Concerto with the University of Utah Wind Ensemble, and recitals featuring contemporary American repertoire. In July 2026, he performed the Arutunian Trumpet Concerto with the University of Utah Clarinet Choir at the Art Center Incheon in South Korea. This international performance helped establish a new artistic connection between the University’s Salt Lake City campus and the University of Utah Asia Campus in Incheon while bringing together university musicians and members of the local Korean community.

Shelton is a member of the Mirari Brass Quintet and a founding member of Fifth Bridge. With Mirari, he has performed at the Chautauqua Institution, the International Trombone Festival, and chamber music series, universities, and artist residencies throughout the United States. Fifth Bridge explores the intersection of acoustic trumpet performance, amplification, digital processing, and multimedia. The ensemble has appeared at the International Trumpet Guild Conference, the Festival of New Trumpet Music in New York City, and the Moss Arts Center at Virginia Tech. Its collaborative projects have included work connected to NASA, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and scientific visualizations of solar research.

As an educator, Shelton emphasizes the development of each student’s individual musical voice while building the technical foundation, stylistic awareness, and professional independence necessary for a sustainable career. Under his leadership, the University of Utah Trumpet Studio has expanded substantially and attracted students from across the country. His students have advanced in the National Trumpet Competition and International Trumpet Guild competitions, presented research at professional conferences, earned orchestral and military positions, entered nationally recognized graduate programs, and accepted teaching appointments at colleges and universities. Shelton also regularly brings prominent guest artists to campus and maintains an active outreach program with school music programs and educators throughout Utah.

Shelton has served the International Trumpet Guild in numerous capacities since 2015. His work has included service on the organization’s CD Committee, Social Media Committee, Music and Book Review teams, conference coverage, and competition adjudication. He chaired the ITG Orchestral Excerpt Competition from 2018 to 2021 and has contributed articles and reviews to the International Trumpet Guild Journal. In 2025, he served as a co-editor of The Military Trumpeter: From Audition to Admission, published by Art of Sound Music. He also helped produce and edit the International Trumpet Guild’s Military Band Excerpt recording resource, which provides practical audition materials for trumpet students and teachers.

In May 2025, Shelton served as site host for the 49th Annual International Trumpet Guild Conference at the University of Utah. The conference brought trumpet performers, teachers, scholars, students, composers, and industry professionals from around the world to Salt Lake City for performances, competitions, lectures, masterclasses, research presentations, and exhibits. The event provided significant international visibility for the University of Utah and offered students direct access to many of the leading artists and teachers in the profession.

As Associate Director of Operations, Shelton contributes to the broader academic and artistic life of the School of Music. His leadership has included redesigning the School’s academic schedule for its Fall 2026 launch and coordinating the MORE Committee, which brings together the School’s work in Marketing, Outreach, Recruitment, and Engagement. Through these efforts, he has worked to strengthen the School’s operations, public presence, recruitment initiatives, alumni connections, and relationships with the wider community.

Shelton was named a Virginia Tech Department of Music Notable Alumnus in 2025. He was the first-place winner of the 2014 National Trumpet Competition and was selected as the winner of a trumpet position with the United States Army Field Band in 2015. He has been a Yamaha Performing Artist since 2018. Shelton holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Trumpet Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music, a Master of Music degree in Trumpet Performance from the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Virginia Tech, where he studied instrumental music education and trumpet performance.