Bernard Soustrot

This renowned French trumpet player began his studies on that instrument at the early age of nine, when he entered the Lyon district division of the National School of Music. When he graduated four years later, he was awarded a gold medal for trumpet, cornet, and solfeggio. In 1971, he entered the Higher National School of Music in Paris and attended the course given by Maurice André. After winning several important contest prizes (Prague in 1974, Geneva in 1975, and the Maurice André Contest in 1976), he was appointed the first (solo) trumpeter in the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra in 1975. In 1976, he became first trumpeter in the New Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Gilbert Amy. In 1981, he embarked on his international career as a concert soloist performing with organists such as François-Henri Houbart, organist of the Madeleine Church in Paris; or playing solo with great orchestras and conductors, such as Claudio Scimone, Karl Richter, Karl Münchinger, Seiji Ozawa, Marc Soustrot, and Vladimir Spivakov. Since 1986, Soustrot has served as creative and artistic director for the renowned Narbonne International Brass Quintet Contest. He is also the artistic director of the Guebwiller World Trumpet Contest. Soustrot holds master classes throughout the world and in 1989 was appointed a teacher at the National School of Music for the Boulogne-Billancourt area.