Online Program

ONLINE PROGRAM

About the Show

Youth Trumpet Scholars presents

The Trumpet Trilogy: Wayne Bergeron, Andrea Giuffredi, and Alex Sipiagin

with the DIVA Jazz Orchestra, led by Sherrie Maricle

featuring the 2024 Youth Trumpet Scholars

Master of Ceremonies: Ken Poston

Sunday, September 22, 2024 at 5pm

Irvine Barclay Theatre

Platinum sponsor: The Drake Gives

“Nothing makes me feel more accomplished than hearing a young musician say that I inspired them or had a positive influence on their life. For me, that’s the real payday.” One of the most sought-after musicians working today, Wayne is constantly busy with studio sessions, film dates, international tours, jazz concerts, guest appearances, and clinics in his hometown of Los Angeles and around the world. He is currently on faculty at California State University Northridge and is a National Artist for the Yamaha Corporation of America. Wayne first caught the world’s ear as lead trumpet with Maynard Ferguson’s band in 1986. He can be heard on Body and Soul, Big Bop Nouveau, Brass Attitude, and The One and Only Maynard Ferguson. Maynard described him as “the most musical lead trumpet player I’ve had on my band.” As a sideman, his list of recording credits reads like a who’s who of contemporary jazz and pop, running the stylistic gamut from Ray Charles to Green Day. He has also worked on more than 500 TV and motion picture soundtracks. But his greatest love is playing lead in big bands; he has recorded and played with some of the most respected bands and artists in Los Angeles. He has also done guest appearances with several national orchestras, including the LA Phil, the New York Philharmonic, and the Cleveland Orchestra. His first solo album, You Call This a Living?, earned him a 2003 Grammy nomination for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album. His subsequent albums, Plays Well With Others and Full Circle, have been just as well received.

www.waynebergeron.com

Andrea Giuffredi

Heralded worldwide as a virtuoso trumpet artist, Andrea is widely considered one of the finest and most versatile performers on stage today. He is comfortable in all genres from classical to contemporary and delights audiences worldwide with his extraordinary versatility, his masterful stage presence, and his pure, melodic tone—an iconic Bel Canto sound played on his signature CarolBrass trumpet. Born in Parma, Italy, Andrea began trumpet studies at 9 and entered the Piacenza conservatory at 14. By age 17 he was performing professionally with the esteemed RAI Milan Symphony. He soon became a sought-after guest artist and lead trumpet player for prominent Italian orchestras, including the Arturo Toscanini Symphony of Parma, RAI of Milan and Turin, Teatro “La Scala” Milan, and I Pomeriggi Musicali of Milan. Andrea has been a featured performer four times at the prestigious International Trumpet Guild World Conference, which spotlights the foremost players from all over the world. Commercially, he has played successful broadcasts for many years and in 2008 appeared as a trumpet soloist on Italian national TV with Liza Minnelli. He has recorded solos for several successful albums, including three critically acclaimed solo albums for Summit Records USA, and has played with some of the most acclaimed Italian pop singers. His most recent recording, Cuore e Passione, was released in 2018 to outstanding critical reviews. Dedicated wholeheartedly to the trumpet and music education, Andrea has performed concerts and presented master classes and instructional clinics in North and South America, all over Europe and the Middle East, and throughout Asia, including in mainland China. Since 1993 he has been professor of trumpet at the Civica Scuola di Musica Milano “Claudio Abbado.” His educational series on YouTube, “Play with Me” (@AndreaGiuffreditrumpet) has over 50 million views.

www.andreagiuffredi.com

Alex Sipiagin

Alex is a citizen of the world and a world-renowned jazz trumpeter. In 1990, he won top honors at the International Louis Armstrong Competition sponsored by the Thelonius Monk Institute in Washington, DC. The next year he emigrated from his native Russia to New York City, which became his base for a life on the road. Alex has performed at jazz festivals worldwide with the likes of Dave Holland, Michael Brecker, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, the Mingus groups, and many more, and has toured extensively throughout Europe, the United States, Asia, and New Zealand with his own groups. Alex has worked with legendary artists such as Eric Clapton, Aaron Neville, Elvis Costello, and David Sanborn, as well as producers such as Phil Ramone and Gonzolo Rubalcaba. He can be heard on the Dave Holland Big Band’s Grammy-winning albums What Goes Around and Overtime, on Michael Brecker Quindectet’s Wide Angles, and on the Dafnis Prieto Big Band’s Back to the Sunset. He has more than 20 soloist recordings to his credit, some featuring jazz greats such as Mulgrew Miller and Chris Potter. In recent years, he has recorded two solo albums with the Posi-Tone label, Upstream and Ascent to the Blues, and he released his newest album with Criss Cross Jazz, Mel’s Vision, in early 2023. After more than 30 years in New York, Alex now lives in Italy, where he holds a residency at the influential Siena Jazz. He also holds a residency at the Basel Academy of Music in Switzerland. His previous teaching positions include a seven-year professorship at New York University and a residency at the Conservatory of Amsterdam. He is an AR Resonance Artist.

www.alexsipiagin.com

Diva Jazz Orchestra

Hard-charging, powerful, immersed in the history of their craft, and passionately swinging the music forward; that’s DIVA—a multi-generational ensemble of fifteen versatile musicians who expertly balance enthusiastic energy with sophisticated subtlety, virtuosity, and imagination.

Headed by swinging drummer Sherrie Maricle, DIVA exudes the excitement and force found in the tradition of historic big bands, with an eye toward originality. Based in New York, DIVA has performed all over the world for more than 30 years, playing original contemporary and mainstream big band jazz composed and arranged specifically for the band and tailored to fit their distinct ensemble sound while highlighting each soloist’s unique personality and style. DIVA has shared the stage with powerhouse artists like Rosemary Clooney, Dave Brubeck, and Nancy Wilson, and has appeared in iconic settings around the world.

DIVA was founded by Stanley Kay, one-time manager and relief drummer for Buddy Rich. In 1990 he heard Sherrie play, was impressed, and decided to create a band of like-minded masterful players. The legacy of that nationwide search is evident today: The DIVA Jazz Orchestra loves to swing!

Check out DIVA Jazz at divajazz.com

Sherrie Maricle

Sherrie leads the DIVA Jazz Orchestra with her signature driving drum style, which is also the force behind her quintet FIVE PLAY, the DIVA Jazz Trio, and the 3Divas. She has performed with The New York Pops and was music director and drummer for Broadway star Maurice Hines. Sherrie is also a busy freelance performer and a published composer/arranger. She has received several awards and honors, including a 2014 Ovation award for Best Music Direction in Tappin’ Thru Life; the 2009 Mary Lou Williams-Kennedy Center Lifetime Achievement Award, the Kennedy Center Alliance Award for Outstanding Achievements in the Arts, and the New York City Music Educator’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education. Sherrie was twice selected New York University “Music Teacher of the Year.”

DIVA Jazz Players

Alto sax
Scheila Gonzales
Sharon Hirata

Tenor sax
Kristen Edkins
Chloe Feoranzo

Baritone sax
Ann Patterson

Trombone
Lori Stuntz
Tiffany Johns
Shelly Suminski

Bass trombone
Rose Doylemason

Trumpet
Liesl Whitaker
Jami Dauber
Rachel Therrien
Barbara Laronga
Kellin Hanas

Piano
Tomoko Ohno

Bass
Amy Shook

Music Director/Drums
Sherrie Maricle

Ken Poston

Ken Poston has a passion for jazz that has been the throughline of his storied career. He is a widely acclaimed jazz historian and is seen as an authority on the emergence and evolution of West Coast jazz. He is also one of the foremost jazz concert producers working today.

In the early 1980s, Ken served as the founding executive director of the Kansas City Jazz Commission, establishing a rich, thriving modern community around the city’s jazz heritage. His contributions include founding a local jazz magazine, JAM, which is still in print today, and creating numerous jazz history projects, concerts, and festivals.

In 1987, Ken moved to Los Angeles to become the director of concert productions at KLON (now KKJZ). He produced dozens of concerts and festivals during his tenure, and his popular “Portraits in Jazz” program was a Saturday morning staple.

Today, Ken is the director of the Los Angeles Jazz Institute, which he founded, and general manager of KSDS 88.3 FM San Diego—one of the last remaining full-time jazz stations in the country. He is a sought-after speaker and teacher, and is currently an instructor at UCLA.

2024 Youth Trumpet Scholars

Hadi Assoum
Jawad Assoum
Isaiah James Barberena
Bijou Harmony Blay
Namir Caraveo
Sooho Cho
Walker Cichuniec
Antonio Gallegos
Aiden Garza
David Gietzen
Belen Gonzalez
Aiden Hanley
Sagan Hanna
Tobias Heringer
Seth Holder
Sophia Hsu
Miri Izenberg
Christian Jensen
Joshua Jimenez
Tyler Kerfoot
Jackson Kidd
Jacky Li
Paxton Liu
Samuel Mendoza
Rudy Mireles
Carlos Morales
Ivan H. Mudry
William Nadal
Salvatore Veltri Netto
Lydia Nguyễn
Maxwell Nuño
Elias Nuspl
Chloe O’Brien
Michael A. Ortega
David Parsons
Keelie Pellman
Philip Ryu
Edgar Salas
Nicholas Sanz
Timothy Seo
Roger Shafer III
Royce Tikhonov
Katherine Van Boerum
Penelope Wade
Luis Zambrano

About Youth Trumpet Scholars

Welcome! We are thrilled that you could join us for the first (but not the last!) Youth Trumpet Scholars event, where world-class maestros teach, mentor, and share the stage with young musicians from across Southern California.

We created YTS to support and empower young musicians. By creating engaging educational events with professional performers and instructors, we are providing these students with a unique platform and a valuable opportunity to actively participate and engage in the world of music. It is our hope that this experience will foster a vibrant and supportive community for these young trumpeters—a community that will encourage them to follow their music wherever it takes them.

I am profoundly grateful to all the volunteers who worked so hard to bring this event to life, the sponsors who provided financial and in-kind support, and of course the amazing performers who have shared their time and talent this weekend. Thank you!

— Rachel G. Niendorf, EdD

See the 2024 YTS Board and volunteers