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Trumpet Faculty Member Melvyn Broiles Dies at 73 Melvyn Broiles, principal trumpeter of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for many years and a faculty member at Juilliard since 1971, died on August 26. He was 73.
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| Melvyn Broiles |
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Born in Coquille, Ore., on September 4, 1929, Broiles learned to play the trumpet in the second grade in Salina, Kan. When his family moved to California for 10 years, he played with various dance bands after school and became interested in jazz, spending his evenings in the local clubs listening to Charlie Parker, Howard McGee, and other jazz greats. (The liner notes of Charlie Parker Plays It Cool, a CD of music culled from the legendary Dial archives, credits Broiles with providing the chord changes in a McGee tune called "Stupendous"—a variation on Gershwin's "S'Wonderful"—around 1947.)After studying architecture at the University of Wichita, Broiles was accepted to Juilliard in 1950 and became a student of William Vacchiano. His education was interrupted by the Korean War, when he enlisted and became first trumpeter of the U.S. Military Band at West Point from 1951-54. He then returned to Juilliard for further study, punctuated by a three-month leave in 1955 to play on tour with the Symphony of the Air, entertaining American servicemen in the Far East.Back in New York, Broiles did freelance work as a recording artist, playing Broadway shows, and teaching. He was the brass coach for the National Orchestral Association in New York, a student training ensemble conducted by Leon Barzun. In 1956 he was engaged by the Metropolitan Opera. After a brief stint in the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1957, he returned to the Met in 1958 as principal trumpet, a position he maintained until his retirement in 2001.Broiles joined the faculty of Juilliard in 1971 and continued teaching here (as well as at trumpet symposiums and music festivals such as Tanglewood) after his retirement from the Met. He was also a faculty member at Mannes College of Music and guest-conducted at numerous universities in the U.S., Mexico, and Finland.Broiles was the author of several books for trumpet students over the years and a prolific composer of music for brass, including 100 etudes for trumpet. A library of his music is being established by Fred Mills, professor of music at the University of Georgia, in Athens.He is survived by his wife, Teresa, and daughter, Karen.
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