Christopher Martin

Christopher Martin is an American trumpet player who was named the principal trumpet of the New York Philharmonic in May 2016 and began his tenure there in September 2016. He has also served as Principal trumpet of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (2005-2017) and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (2000-2005), and as Associate Principal of the Philadelphia Orchestra (1997-2000). He has also performed with High Bridge Brass, an American conical brass quintet, since its founding in June 2018. During his time in Chicago, Martin gave the world premieres of several trumpet concerti, notably Christopher Rouse's Heimdall's Trumpet in 2012. Christopher Martin plays on a YTR-9445CHSIII C Trumpet Biography Martin is a native of Marietta, GA. His father, Freddy, is a band director in Atlanta's Westminster Schools, and his mother, Lynda, sings in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus. Growing up in a musical family, Martin often attended his father's drum corps rehearsals and was inspired from an early age to play a brass instrument. While attending Sprayberry High School in Marietta, GA, Martin began trumpet lessons with Larry Black of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. After high school, Martin attended the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with Barbara Butler and Charles Geyer. He was a member of the Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps in 1993. After his time at Eastman, Martin won a fellowship playing in the New World Symphony in 1997. His stint in NWS was brief, however, because he soon won the Associate Principal Trumpet position with the Philadelphia Orchestra, where he played three complete seasons (1998-2000). From there, he won the Principal Trumpet position with his hometown orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, where he played until 2005. Chicago Symphony Orchestra From the ASO, Martin won the coveted Principal Trumpet position with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 2005, succeeding the legendary Adolph "Bud" Herseth. During Martin's time in Chicago, he established himself as one of the premier trumpeters in the world, both in the orchestra and as a soloist. He was featured with a major trumpet solo in John Williams’s score to Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln (2012), recorded by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. This trumpet solo was written by Williams for Martin himself - and was famously performed at the Capitol Fourth Concert in 2013 with the National Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of John Williams.