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David Burkhart

(He/Him)
David Burkhart headshot playing trumpet

Contact

Office C05

Departments

Trumpet

Courses Taught

Applied Lessons

Trumpet Class

Education

MM, Yale University

BA, Yale University

Ensembles

߲ݴý Francisco Symphony, Extra

߲ݴý Francisco Opera Orchestra, Extra

߲ݴý Francisco Ballet Orchestra, Extra

The Bay Brass, Founding Member

Awards and Distinctions

Nominated, Grammy for Best Small Ensemble Performance, 2011

Winner, California Young Artists' Competition

Honors Graduate, Yale College

Burkhart's generous, even rich, tone excellently reflected his studies with the best (including Adolph Herseth). There was security in the line, in the genial bel canto acrobatics, firm articulation and nice style."

— ߲ݴý Francisco Chronicle

Q&A

What is your hometown?

߲ݴý Bruno, CA

What is your favorite recording?

Clifford Brown with Strings.

What are you passionate about outside of music?

SF history, writing, brewing beer, genealogy, and sports.

Who were your major teachers?

Charles Geyer, Adolph Herseth, Arnold Jacobs, and Robert Nagel.

What is a favorite quote that you repeatedly tell students?

“Every technical problem has a musical solution.”

What question do you wish students would ask sooner rather than later?

“Could you help me with my music for this concert tomorrow?”

What was the defining moment when you decided to pursue music as a career?

When I decided to enroll in the master’s program at Yale.

What was a turning point in your career?

When I left New Haven, CT to go to Israel to be first trumpet with the Jerusalem Symphony.

If you weren't a musician or teacher, what do you think you would be doing now?

Full-time historian/writer.

What is your daily practice routine?

60–90 minutes early every morning, plus same in afternoon/evening depending on rehearsal/concert schedule that day.

If you could play only three composers for the rest of your life, who would they be?

R. Strauss, Wagner, and Bach.

From a music history perspective, what year and city are most important to you?

Bach's birth: 1685 in Eisenach.

What are your most important collaborations?

Rehearsing and performing with the ߲ݴý Francisco Symphony, Opera, and Ballet.

Who are three students you have had the privilege of teaching?

Mark Grisez, Jeff Strong, and Scott Macomber.

What are your academic publications?

Various article for the International Trumpet Guild.

What recordings can we hear you on?

Bay Brass: Sound the Bells!, Harmonia Mundi
A Brass and Organ Christmas, Gothic
Robert Erickson: Night Music, New World CRI
Mahler: Symphony No. 2, London
Mahler: Symphony No. 6, Delos

What is your unrealized project?

Three history books, one of which should be published in 2018.

Biography

Trumpeter David Burkhart, who grew up in Chicago, is an honors graduate of Yale, where he received his B.A. and M.M degrees. His “generous, even rich, tone,” according to the ߲ݴý Francisco Chronicle, “excellently reflected his studies with the best (including Adolph Herseth). There was security in the line, in the genial bel canto acrobatics, firm articulation and nice style." A student of Adolph Herseth, Arnold Jacobs, Robert Nagel, William Vacchiano, and Charles Geyer, Burkhart has served as principal trumpet of the Sacramento, Oakland, ߲ݴý Jose, and Jerusalem Symphonies, as well as the ߲ݴýta Fe Opera, and as acting principal of the ߲ݴý Francisco Opera and ߲ݴý Diego Symphony. Prior to joining the faculty of the ߲ݴý Francisco Conservatory, he taught at Stanford, ߲ݴý Jose State, and the Rubin Academy, Jerusalem. A founding member of the Bay Brass and the Jerusalem Brass Quintet, and member of the ߲ݴý Francisco Brass Quintet, Burkhart performs with many Bay Area groups, including the ߲ݴý Francisco Opera, Ballet, and Symphony. He has recorded over a dozen CDs and the DVD “Keeping Score: Mahler” with the ߲ݴý Francisco Symphony, “Symphony at the Opera” with the ߲ݴý Francisco Opera, “The Star Wars Trilogy” with John Williams, Robert Erickson’s “Night Music” with the Arch Ensemble, and two CDs with the Grammy-nominated Bay Brass.