CAS CONNECT 2018

O klahoma State University has firmly established itself as a powerhouse at the National Trumpet Competition, winning at least one division in each of the past five years. On June 2, the program reached an even higher level by claiming first place in both of the competitions at the International Trumpet Guild Conference in San Antonio, Texas. NoahMennenga won the ITG Solo Competition, in which he was the only American among the three finalists. Meanwhile, IanMertes claimed the ITG Orchestral Excerpts Competition. He was joined in the finals by Nick Nusser, who placed third. All three had won at the National Trumpet Competition in Denton, Texas, onMarch 10. Mennenga was the top soloist in the undergraduate division, while Mertes and Nusser were among the seven members of OSU’s title- winning large ensemble. The other members were: Matt Daigle, a master’s student fromNewOrleans; Matt Herron, a performance junior fromCelina, Texas; SteffiTetzloff, a performance sophomore fromRochester, Minnesota; and Oklahoma natives Collin Stout, a music education junior from Skiatook, and Bryson Tuttle, a music education senior from Jenks. Ryan Gardner, associate trumpet professor, has overseen the Greenwood School of Music’s trumpet studio and trumpet ensembles since 2011. At the National Trumpet Competition, his students played in the Undergraduate Solo Division, Graduate Solo Division, Small Ensemble and Large Ensemble contests. The program has totaled seven championships and placed nine times across those four categories since 2014. “It’s inspiring to see the students succeed like this,” Gardner said. “We have done very well at the national competition over the past five years, but we have never competed at the International Trumpet Guild Conference. To sweep both competitions is truly a remarkable achievement for these incredible young men.” Wisconsin roots Mennenga is a performance junior fromCottage Grove, Wisconsin. He chose OSU, more than 600 miles from home, because of what he sawwhen he attended the National Trumpet Competition three times as a high school student. He has now gone three times as a Cowboy. “To finally win as a soloist is very exciting,” Mennenga said. “Then, to have a great performance and win at the international competition was even more amazing.” Mennenga remembers the 2012 competition, when Northwestern’s Ansel Norris won the solo division for the second time. Mennega and Norris, a native of Madison, Wisconsin, had the same teachers growing up. “I really looked up to him,” Mennenga said. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. He’s incredible!’ So now to be in that position is cool.” Along with a cash prize, Mennenga’s win in Denton earned him a trip to the Conn-Selmer plant in Elkhart, Indiana, for a customBach Stradivarius trumpet. He had placed third in 2017, when OSU’s Natalie Upton won. That experience, along with winning as part of the large ensemble in 2016, showed Mennenga what it takes to succeed at this level. And he thought he might have failed with his first-round performance in Denton. “The quarterfinal round is 60 people, with 12 making it to the semifinals and three advancing to the finals,” Mennenga said. “I wasn’t very happy with my initial performance in the quarterfinals. I knew if I performed like that again, I wouldn’t advance. I played a lot better in the semifinals, so then I could rest before the finals knowing I had done what I could.” Like Mennenga, Mertes had learned what it takes to win as a member of the 2016 large ensemble. That experience helped the music education junior from Cushing, Oklahoma, claim two more championships this spring. “We were so pleased to succeed in Denton, and then having three of us reach the finals at the International Trumpet Guild was phenomenal,” Mertes said. “For all of us to play well there and have two of us win is truly remarkable. It’s a special program that Dr. Gardner is developing. We work 30 CONNECT 201 8