Matthew Barker & Michael Harper, Trumpet

Matthew Barker recently joined the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra as the Fourth/Utility Trumpet beginning in the 2016-2017 Season. A native of Houston, he earned a Bachelor of Music from Northwestern University in 2013 where he studied under the tutelage of Barbara Butler, Charles Geyer and Robert Sullivan. He also served two years in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, a premier training program for emerging professional musicians, continuing his studies with Christopher Martin. Matthew returned to Houston and his former teachers Butler and Geyer in pursuing his Masters at Rice University’s esteemed Shepherd School of Music in 2015, where he frequently subbed with the Houston Symphony Orchestra.

Michael Harper joined the National Symphony Orchestra as Assistant Principal Trumpet in July 2022. He was previously a member of the Jacksonville Symphony for five seasons, serving as second trumpet as well as acting principal. While in Florida, he taught at Jacksonville University and the University of North Florida. Harper has performed with the St. Louis Symphony as guest principal, as well as with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Symphony, Sydney Symphony, and Cleveland Orchestra. He has spent his summers at many music festivals, including Britt, Lakes Area, Tanglewood, Verbier, Interlochen, and NSO Summer Music Institute, where he studied with former NSO principal trumpet Steven Hendrickson. Winner of the CIM concerto competition, Harper performed the Arutiunian Trumpet Concerto with the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) Orchestra and maestro Jahja Ling in 2016. In 2010, Harper was featured on NPR’s From The Top with his trumpet trio, the only such ensemble to ever perform on the show.