ERIC BERLIN

• Paulus: Concerto for Two Trumpets - III. Dance

“Tremendous technical dexterity... Berlin displays a clear luminious resplendant tone in his upper register... Listening to this CD will be an enjoyable experience for anyone interested in contemporary music for trumpet”

Brian Winegardner, ITG Journal [Spring 2016]

“The recorded sound is very good… The performances of all the musicians are clean, crisp, and precise, in a word: fantastic. This is a very enjoyable and satisfying recording that easily merits multiple listenings.”

Marvin Ward, Classical Voice of North Carolina [January 2016]

“[Eric Berlin's] first two recordings showed his beautiful tone, good taste, and technical skills in excellent programs of modern works... All of the readings are excellent.”

Kilpatrick, American Record Guide [May/June 2015]

“[Concerto for Two Trumpets and Band by Stephen Paulus] is in fact a work of considerable interest, its three movements nicely contrasted with each other and the role given to the two trumpets being sufficiently intricate and involving to reach out to listeners and hold them throughout. ...the overall sound of the piece is attractive from start to finish, and the UMass Wind Ensemble under James Patrick Miller plays well and is both solid and subtle in its support of the soloists. [Herald Emeritus Fanfare] certainly showcases the instruments well and shows that the University of Massachusetts has some fine brass players in addition to Berlin himself, who has taught there for more than a decade. Listeners interested in first-rate brass playing and some skillful 21st-century writing for trumpet ...will find this release as a whole to be a very rewarding one.”

Mark J. Estren, InfoDad [March 2015]

“Eric Berlin, principal trumpet of the Albany Symphony Orchestra, also remains productive in the recording studio and is actively dedicated to contemporary music... Throughout, Berlin's playing is muscular and strong, ringing and clear.”

Joseph Dalton, Albany Times-Union [October 2014]

The Concerto for Two Trumpets and Band by Stephen Paulus received a Grammy Nomination for "Best Contemporary Classical Composition". The nomination is a fitting testament to the work, and to the performers that realized it so beautifully.

Trumpeter Eric Berlin has made the music of our time the focus of his career. As a soloist, Eric has commissioned, premiered and recorded new works for trumpet from some of today’s most exciting composers, including Robert Bradshaw, Michael Ellison, Eric Ewazen, Evan Hause, Salvatore Macchia, Stephen Paulus and James Stephenson. In March 2012, Berlin premiered and recorded
True Colors for Trumpet and Orchestra by George Tsontakis, commissioned for him by the Albany Symphony Orchestra. Berlin has been a featured soloist at several recent International Trumpet Guild Conferences, including a full recital of commissions in 2005 in Bangkok, Thailand, and concerto performances in 2004, 2007, 2012 and 2013. He has performed as a soloist with the Hartford, Albany and Brooklyn symphony orchestras, the United States Coast Guard Band, the wind ensembles of the University of Massachusetts and the University of Denver and overseas with the Helsinki University Orchestra.

As Principal Trumpet of the Grammy Award-winning Albany Symphony Orchestra since 1998, Berlin can be heard with them on more than a dozen highly acclaimed recordings that include works by John Corigliano, Morton Gould, John Harbison, Roy Harris, William Schuman and Michael Torke, among others. He is also Principal Trumpet with the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and is a  member of the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, with whom he can be heard on more than 30 recordings by living American composers, including Derek Bermel, Jacob Druckman, Robert Erickson, Lukas Foss, Charles Fussell, Steven Mackey, Gunther Schuller and Evan Ziporyn. Since 2006, Berlin has spent his summers performing as Associate Principal Trumpet of the Colorado Music Festival in Boulder. In addition to his regular positions, he has performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

Highly regarded as a trumpet pedagogue, Berlin maintains a studio as Artist-Teacher of Trumpet at the University of Massachusetts, where he hosted the 2007 Conference of the International Trumpet Guild, of which he is a member of the Board of Directors and a lifetime member as well. Berlin has given master classes at Baylor University, Eastman School of Music, Yale University, University of North Texas, Virginia Commonwealth University, Northeastern University and University of New Hampshire, as well as at the Turku Conservatory and Sibelius Academy in Finland.

A native of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Berlin attended the New England Conservatory of Music, where he was a student of Charles Schlueter, former Principal Trumpet of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Robert Nagel of the New York Brass Quintet. He has also studied extensively with Vincent Penzerella of the New York Philharmonic, Tom Rolfs of the Boston Symphony and Frank Kadarabek, former Principal Trumpet of The Philadelphia Orchestra. Eric Berlin is a Yamaha Performing Artist and performs on Schagerl rotary-valve instruments.


STEPHENSON: DUO FANTASTIQUE
CHARLES SCHLUETER - Monette Decorated Presentation Raja Samadhi C trumpet
ERIC BERLIN - Monette Raja Samadhi C trumpet

PAULUS: CONCERTO
RICHARD KELLEY - Bach Stradivarius C trumpet 229 bell 25H leadpipe with Bach 1.5C mouthpiece
ERIC BERLIN - Yamaha Chicago YTR-9445CHS C trumpet with Monette C2 mouthpiece

HAUSE: TRUMPET CONCERTO
ERIC BERLIN - Yamaha Chicago YTR-9445CHS C trumpet with Monette C2 mouthpiece
Yamaha YFH-631G flugelhorn with Monette B2FL mouthpiece

HOLMES: CONTINUUM
ERIC BERLIN - S.E. Shires Destino 3 Severinsen Model B-flat trumpet with Monette B2 mouthpiece
GREG SPIRIDOPOULOS - S.E. Shires trombone with Giddings & Webster Kadja mouthpiece JEFFREY HOLMES (b.1955)
HERALD EMERITUS FANFARE (2006)

JAMES STEPHENSON (b.1969)
DUO FANTASTIQUE (2007)

STEPHEN PAULUS (b.1949)
CONCERTO FOR TWO TRUMPETS AND BAND (2003/2007)
Fantasy
Elegy
Dance

EVAN HAUSE (b.1968)
TRUMPET CONCERTO (2001/2004)
Circus
Dirge
Chase

JEFFREY HOLMES
CONTINUUM FOR TRUMPET, TROMBONE AND WIND ENSEMBLE (2012)



MSR Classics