Biography

Prior to the pandemic, I was a full time performer and educator in Austin, Texas, involved with a number of groups in the area.

I began performing in 2006 at 16 for Medieval Times as one of the herald trumpeters, up to 6 nights per week, 2 shows a night, for crowds up to 1,100 people.

In high school I also played with Festive Brass, a community brass band founded by the legendary Bobby DeNicola, inventor of the Puje trumpet.

My senior year of high school I was split-lead in the All-State Jazz Band.

My senior year of college I was the 2012 winner of the Bruce Thompson Concerto Competition. That same year I also won my audition with Royal Caribbean, prior to graduating.

After cruise ships I went on to earn my master’s degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign on a full tuition waiver.

Immediately after completing my master’s in 2016, I won the audition with the Ringling Brothers.

I relocated to Austin in 2017 after performing nationally for crowds up to 11,000 with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus as one of the two final trumpet players in the circus band, playing the final show after 146 years of continuous operation.

Since 2021 I have quit freelancing to focus on my own artistic and musical interests thanks to a newfound career in remote tech sales.

I’m looking forward to producing new music using trumpet in creative, out of the box ways in genres that have historically been inaccessible to the instrument.

Thanks for checking out my page. Feel free to contact me at jwb@jwbtpt.com if you’d like to talk!