A native of Illinois, trumpeter Mary Elizabeth Bowden has emerged as a dazzling, young soloist, well known and highly regarded for her artistry and virtuosity, as well as the clarity, purity and power of her sound. She is also the First Prize winner of the 2012 International Women’s Brass Conference Trumpet Competition.
Ms. Bowden made her solo debut with Wisconsin's Birch Creek Symphony Orchestra. Since then, she has performed as soloist with the Naples and Richmond Philharmonic Orchestras, Richmond Youth Symphony Orchestra, Pennsylvania’s Lower Merion Symphony Orchestra, San Juan Symphony, Springfield (OH) Symphony Orchestra and New Haven Chamber Orchestra, among several others. At The Banff Center in Alberta, Canada, she twice performed Vivaldi's Concerto for 2 Trumpets with renowned trumpeters Jens Lindemann and Ryan Anthony. She was also awarded the Public Prize from the 2009 Perrenoud Foundation International Music Competition. Ms. Bowden frequently performs in recital throughout the country, both in solo programs and in duo performances with trumpeter David Dash.
Ms. Bowden is a member of the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, and has served on the adjunct faculty of Virginia Commonwealth University. She is co-founder of Florida’s Chrysalis Chamber Players, a recipient of a Yale Alumni Grant, and has collaborated in chamber music programs at the Marlboro Music Festival, The Banff Centre and, under the baton of trumpeter Håkan Hardenberger, at the Sydney Opera House.
An experienced orchestral musician, Ms. Bowden has served as Principal Trumpet of New Zealand's Auckland Philharmonia and the Artosphere Festival in Arkansas. In 2006, she was acting Principal Trumpet of the Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra in Korea. At the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland, she also held the principal chair in Pierre Boulez’s performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 6, released on CD in June 2011. The Luzerner Zeitung described her playing in one word - “outstanding.” She has also performed with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, Naples Philharmonic Orchestra, New World Symphony, Virginia Symphony Orchestra and Santa Fe Opera, as well as at Colorado’s Breckenridge Music Festival. Ms. Bowden has worked with many of our time’s most distinguished maestri, including Christoph von Dohnányi, Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach, Simon Rattle, David Robertson, Gerard Schwarz, Robert Spano, Yuri Temirkanov, Michael Tilson Thomas and David Zinman.
Ms. Bowden began full-time college studies at the age of 14, receiving an Associate Degree from Joliet Junior College. Subsequently, she earned her Bachelor of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied with the principal trumpeter of The Philadelphia Orchestra, David Bilger. On a full scholarship to the Yale School of Music for studies with Allan Dean, Ms. Bowden was awarded her Master of Music degree in 2006.
Ms. Bowden is a Yamaha Performing Artist.
