FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Four members of associate professor Richard Rulli's trumpet studio at the University of Arkansas have won International Trumpet Guild Conference Scholarships. The students are Micah Walsh-Levi in the graduate division, and Erick Amaya, Trey Jeter and Matthew Swerts in the undergraduate division.

For this highly competitive international competition, each student submitted a live performance recording that included two prescribed selections — one solo with piano and one etude. The recordings are judged anonymously and winners selected on the merits of each performance. Tomoko Kashiwagi, a U of A faculty collaborative pianist, recorded the solos with each student.

Each student will receive a $250 cash award and have their conference registration waived ($250 value) for this year's International Trumpet Guild Conference July 9-13 in Miami, Florida. They will also be recognized at the conference banquet.

ABOUT THE WINNERS

Micah Walsh-Levi is a graduate student and graduate assistant in the Trumpet Studio at the University of Arkansas working on his Master of Music degree in trumpet performance. He received his Bachelor of Music in trumpet performance from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Walsh-Levi currently plays in the Arkansas Brassworks (UA Faculty Brass Quintet) and the Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra among other music ensembles in and around Fayetteville.

Erick Amaya is from Fort Smith and graduated from Northside High School in 2015. Amaya is currently a senior trumpet performance major at the University of Arkansas, and is a member of Rulli's trumpet studio. Amaya is also a vocal music education major in Chris MacRae's studio.

Trey Jeter is a sophomore from McKinney, Texas. He is a member of the trumpet studio under the direction of Rulli. Jeter is a music composition major and studies with Robert Mueller. In the future, Jeter wishes to compose music for movies and other media including video games and television. One of his goals is to write the music to a successful major motion picture with hopes of making it to the Oscars one day.

Matthew Swerts is a graduate of McKinney High School in McKinney, Texas. He is currently a sophomore music education major and a student in Rulli's trumpet studio. Upon graduation, Swerts intends to pursue a master's degree in conducting and hopes to lead major ensembles one day.