Ronald Romm

Biography

Ronald Romm, a performer who has appeared worldwide on the stages of almost all major concert venues, music festivals, and international music conferences, is widely acknowledged as one of the pre-eminent trumpeters and clinicians today. Professor Romm was a child prodigy who began his career as a soloist at the age of 10.

By age 12, Romm was a member of his family’s band, the Romm-Antics, and at 18 was already a veteran freelance trumpeter in Los Angeles, performing regularly with the Los Angeles Brass Society, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Los Angeles Brass Quintet. He attended the University of Southern California as a scholarship student of James Stamp, and later transferred to The Juilliard School where he completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees with William Vacchiano, legendary teacher and former principal trumpet of the New York Philharmonic. In New York City, Professor Romm performed with everything from the New York Brass Society to the New York City Opera and Ballet orchestras, to the Radio City Music Hall Symphony Orchestra and various Broadway shows.

In 1971, Ron Romm joined the newly-formed Canadian Brass, which later established itself as the premier brass ensemble in the world. In July of 2000, he retired from the group after participating in more than 4,500 concerts, 60 recordings, numerous television concert specials, videos, and hundreds of masterclasses. Romm has performed live and recorded CDs with leading artists including Wynton Marsalis, Arturo Sandoval, Jon Faddis, Doc Severinsen, and brass performers from the Boston Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic, and Bayreuth Festival Orchestra.

As an educator, Professor Romm has contributed to the growth of brass performance through hundreds of student clinics and masterclasses worldwide. He was also on the faculty at the University of Illinois.

Ron and his wife Avis have toured as a spectacular trumpet/piano duo and, along with their trumpet-playing son Aaron, perform regularly as The Romm Family Trio (www.RommTrio.com). Ron has been a member of America’s “Dream Team” Summit Brass for many years, and teaches at the annual Rafael Méndez Brass Institute each summer.

Teaching Philosophy: Professor Romm believes that a student of music heading for a career either as a performer or educator must be at least acquainted with performance techniques related to a diverse group of musical styles, and for best results, be conversant in them. With the arts in a continuous state of flux, what becomes increasingly obvious to the serious student over time is how much cross-fertilization there is. A working show band player today, for example, must also be able to play their instrument well enough to sound knowledgeable and relaxed performing any style of music from Baroque, to Classical, to contemporary, to salsa and more. It is critically important for an artist to involve an audience completely in the joy of live performance. Because of the public availability of virtually unlimited types of entertainment, a musician preparing for entrance into the arts marketplace has a greater challenge than has ever before been encountered in terms of competing for audience attention. The responsibility of the educator is to empower the student to experience their own greatest success through touching the audience in live performance, sharing energy and communicating their inner feelings through their instrument.

SPECIALTIES:

James Stamp method
William Vacchiano’s teachings
Commercial music
Chamber music coaching
Brass quintet, quartet, trio, mixed ensembles
Stage presence
Trumpet pedagogy
Being a soloist
Early jazz style
Contemporary, avant-garde style
Recital preparation

LANGUAGES:

English