Anne McNamara

Session: The History and Experiences of Women and Non-Binary Trumpet Professors

Anne McNamara is the Assistant Professor of Trumpet at Illinois State University where her duties involve teaching applied trumpet, conducting the I.S.U. Trumpet Ensemble and performing in the I.S.U. Faculty Brass Quintet. Dr. McNamara works regularly as a freelance trumpeter including performances with the Heartland Festival Orchestra, Champaign-Urbana Symphony, Owensboro Symphony, Louisville Orchestra and as the flugelhorn chair with the Fountain City Brass Band.

In addition to performing, Anne also actively pursues the commission and performance of new works such as her commission of Roy Magnuson’s “Thoughts and Prayers” for unaccompanied trumpet, Carson Cooman’s Sonata for Flugelhorn and Piano and the adaptation of Kevin McKee’s A Winter’s Night. In 2022, Anne published an article, “The History of Women Trumpet Professors” in the International Trumpet Guild journal and presented on it at the International Womens Brass Conference. Actively involved in the International Trumpet Guild, Anne has taught and performed at several conferences and serves as the chair of the I.T.G. Young Artist Award Committee.

Dr. McNamara earned a BM in Music Education and a Jazz Studies minor from James Madison University, a MM in Trumpet Performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a DMA in Trumpet Performance from the University of Maryland. Her primary trumpet teachers include Chris Gekker, Steve Hendrickson, Dr. Michael Ewald, Ronald Romm, Tito Carrillo, and Jim Kluesner. Dr. McNamara is a Yamaha Performing Artist.