PEYDEN SHELTON

My creative research explores how performance, commissioning, recording, and collaboration can expand the artistic possibilities of the trumpet while producing resources that remain valuable beyond a single concert. I am particularly interested in work that connects contemporary repertoire, technology, historical performance practice, and pedagogy. Whether I am premiering a new composition, recording with an ensemble, performing with the Utah Symphony, or preparing an educational resource, my central question is the same: How can this work contribute meaningfully to the continued development of the trumpet field?

The creation and dissemination of new repertoire form a central part of this research. Through the Trumpet Repertoire Project, supported by grants from the University of Utah, I commissioned and recorded new solo works that culminated in the 2023 Summit Records release Blazing New Trails. More recent recording projects have extended this commitment through three distinct collaborations: Here and Now: Trumpet Music by Virginia Composers, recorded with Jason Crafton and released by Blue Griffin Records; a recording with the Mirari Brass Quintet devoted to newly commissioned chamber music; and an album with Fifth Bridge featuring electro-acoustic works for trumpet ensemble. Together, these projects introduce new compositions to an international audience and create reference recordings that performers, teachers, students, and conductors can use when studying and programming this music. Their impact therefore extends beyond documentation: the recordings help new works enter the active repertoire and encourage continued engagement with the composers and musical ideas they represent.

My work with Fifth Bridge further investigates the relationship between acoustic performance, electronic sound, multimedia, and interdisciplinary collaboration. The ensemble’s projects combine live trumpets with amplification, digital processing, and visual media, including collaborations connected with NASA and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. These performances demonstrate how scientific ideas and data can become the foundation for compelling artistic experiences. My work with the Mirari Brass Quintet similarly advances contemporary chamber music through commissioning, performance, recording, and educational residencies. In both ensembles, collaboration functions as a form of inquiry: the rehearsal and performance process allows us to test new approaches to sound, balance, notation, technology, and communication while helping composers bring ambitious new works to life.

Solo and large-ensemble performance are equally important components of my research. Since 2023, I have presented new and established repertoire at universities, festivals, conferences, and professional venues throughout the United States and abroad. A particularly significant project was my July 2026 performance of Alexander Arutunian’s Trumpet Concerto with the University of Utah Clarinet Choir at the Art Center Incheon in South Korea. In addition to its artistic scope, this performance helped establish a meaningful connection between the University’s Salt Lake City campus and the Utah Asia Campus in Incheon. It brought University of Utah faculty and students into direct collaboration with Korean musicians and community members, demonstrating how performance can support institutional partnerships, cultural exchange, and international visibility.

My extensive work with the Utah Symphony, Ballet West, and commercial recording studios also shapes this research. Performing orchestral masterworks, film scores, popular programs, educational concerts, and music for television, video games, and digital media keeps my creative practice grounded in the evolving expectations of the profession. These experiences allow me to study differences in style, preparation, technology, and communication across performance environments. They also ensure that my teaching and scholarship remain connected to current professional standards rather than existing separately from the field they are intended to serve.

I also translate performance knowledge into accessible scholarly and pedagogical resources. As co-editor of The Military Trumpeter: From Audition to Admission and a contributor to the International Trumpet Guild’s Military Band Excerpt recording project, I have helped develop materials that support musicians preparing for military-band careers—one of the most significant sources of full-time professional employment for trumpet players. My articles, presentations, recordings, and conference activities similarly allow research developed through performance to reach a broader community of musicians and educators.

I measure the impact of my research not only by the number of performances, recordings, or publications it produces, but by what happens afterward: a new work is performed by another musician, a recording becomes a teaching resource, an audition candidate gains clearer access to professional preparation, a student presents research at a conference, or a collaboration creates a new connection between institutions and communities. Moving forward, I will continue developing projects that bring together new repertoire, historical instruments, emerging technologies, professional performance, and student collaboration. My goal is to create work that is artistically ambitious, professionally relevant, and genuinely useful to the trumpet community.