Ethan Bensdorf

Ethan Bensdorf joined the New York Philharmonic’s trumpet section in June 2008, after spending the 2007–08 season as acting Assistant Principal trumpet with the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra in Naples, Florida. He received his Bachelor of Music degree from Northwestern University in 2007, where he studied with Barbara Butler, Charles Geyer, and Christopher Martin. While a student at Northwestern, Mr. Bensdorf spent two years performing with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the training orchestra for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and also performed with the New World Symphony and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s contemporary ensemble, MusicNOW. In May 2005, Mr. Bensdorf was selected to perform at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts representing Northwestern University as part of The Conservatory Project recital series.

In September 2006, Mr. Bensdorf received the Armando Ghitalla International Trumpet Classic Award, which included solo appearances with the United States Coast Guard Band and the Berkshire Symphony Orchestra in Massachusetts. He also spent two summers as a participant in the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan and one summer at the National Orchestral Institute in Maryland. He was selected as a Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center in the summers of 2006 and 2007, where he received the Voisin Trumpet Award.

Mr. Bensdorf has given master classes around the country at some of the most renowned educational institutions, including Manhattan School of Music, Northwestern University, and the Juilliard School, and was the featured guest artist at the 2011 Trumpet Festival at the University of Southern Mississippi. Mr. Bensdorf has performed at the Grand Tetons Music Festival and can be heard with the Metropolitan Opera Brass on their CD Waltzes, Songs, & Festive Scenes. In addition, Mr. Bensdorf has appeared as soloist with the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra and has recorded numerous television and film soundtracks, including the NBC Sunday Night Football theme music. He is also a member of the Principal Brass Quintet of the New York Philharmonic, which performs all over the world.