Jax State Trumpet Ensemble Showcases Talent at Trumpet Festival of the Southeast

01/23/2025

By Brett Buckner 

Members of the Jacksonville State University Trumpet Ensemble recently performed at the largest regional trumpet festival in the country. Trumpet Festival of the Southeast (TFSE) regularly attracts universities from Virginia, Kentucky, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida.  

A different university hosts the festival each year on Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend. This year, it was hosted at Valdosta State University after Jax State hosted the previous year.  

Each year, the festival features two internationally recognized guest artists who perform and conduct masterclasses. This year, the Friday night concert was Rex Richardson, and Caleb Hudson performed Saturday night’s concert. Both presented masterclasses on Saturday. The trumpet ensemble concert was on Saturday afternoon. This year’s festival included more than 10 university ensembles and a mass trumpet ensemble of all the festival participants. Jax State students actively participated in eight events throughout the weekend, including a Saturday morning warmup session and a Friday night jazz jam session. 

Compared to other events that the ensemble participates in, TFSE is not a competition. “It is in place to celebrate the trumpet and trumpet players and allow everyone who attends to perform and learn,” said Dr. Christopher Probst, who teaches the trumpet studio at Jax State.  

“Our students have the opportunity to perform with professional musicians and university students from other schools at this festival and meet professors at other regional universities.” Performing at the TFSE can lead to future career opportunities. “I’ve had several students go on to graduate school based on meeting trumpet professors from larger schools who offer graduate degrees in trumpet performance,” Dr. Probst said.