Trumpet Instructor
Email: wlandon@kansascityschoolofmusic.com
Dr. William Landon is a versatile trumpet player and educator. He performs frequently with Kansas City’s premier party band, Lost Wax, and plays substitute trumpet in the Kansas City Symphony. An avid chamber musician, Landon received first place in the National Trumpet Competition ensemble division as a member the University of Colorado-Boulder Trumpet Ensemble. In addition, he was a quarter-finalist at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Dr. Landon also recently performed with the Miami Summer Music Festival Symphony Orchestra, where he studied with former second trumpet player with the New York Philharmonic, Vincent Penzarella. As the bandleader of Messiah College’s Jazz Fusion combo, Will started a monthly jam session at the student union on campus, attracting jazz musicians from all around the Central Pennsylvania area. Excited by combining popular music with the jazz idiom, he also has written several arrangements of hits such as Childish Gambino’s Redbone and Sam Smith’s Stay With Me for jazz combo.
As an educator, Dr. Landon has taught private trumpet students of all ages. He has also served as a chamber music coach and high brass technician. Several of Landon’s students have won positions in district, regional, and all-state ensembles as well as winning state solo and ensemble competitions. In addition to these competitions, his students are also in collegiate music programs across the country and hold positions in United States military bands.
William Landon received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music. As a recipient of the Graduate Brass Fellowship at UMKC, he was a member of the Volker Brass Quintet which performs educational outreach and concerts in the Kansas City area. He holds a Master of Music degree in trumpet performance and a certificate in arts administration from the University of Colorado- Boulder as well as a bachelor’s degree in music education from Messiah College. His primary teachers include Dr. Keith Benjamin and Kurt Dupuis (UMKC), Dr. Ryan Gardner (CU Boulder), Justin Bartels (Principal Trumpet, Colorado Symphony), Dr. William Stowman (Messiah College), and Kirk Reese (Messiah College). In addition to his primary teachers, Landon has also studied with or performed on masterclasses led by Christopher Martin (New York Philharmonic), Huw Morgan (Septura Brass), Allan Dean (Yale School of Music), Tine Thing Helseth (International Soloist), Tom Hooten (Los Angeles Philharmonic), Jeroen Berwaerts (International Soloist), Marie Speziale (Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra), Michael Sachs (Cleveland Orchestra), and Billy Ray Hunter (Metropolitan Opera).
