Classical trumpeter and Yamaha Performing Artist, Mary Elizabeth Bowden has emerged as a brilliant, young soloist and is highly regarded for her artistry and virtuosity, as well as the clarity, purity and power of her sound. Bowden will release her debut album “Radiance” on Summit Records in April 2015 featuring new American works.
Bowden is the First Prize winner of the 2012 International Women’s Brass Conference Trumpet Competition. She has performed as a soloist with the Naples Symphony, Richmond Philharmonic Orchestra, San Juan Symphony, Springfield (OH) Symphony Orchestra and New Haven Chamber Orchestra, among several others. At The Banff Centre in Alberta, Canada, she performed Vivaldi’s Concerto for 2 Trumpets with trumpeters Jens Lindemann and Ryan Anthony. She was also awarded the Public Prize from the 2009 Perrenoud Foundation International Music Competition. Bowden frequently performs in recital both in solo programs and in a duo with her husband, trumpeter David Dash.
Bowden is a founding member of Chrysalis Chamber Players, a recipient of a Yale Alumni Grant and Seraph Brass. She has collaborated in chamber music programs at the Marlboro Music Festival, The Banff Centre and at the Sydney Opera House under the baton of Håkan Hardenberger. She frequently tours with Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass. She has served on the adjunct faculty of Virginia Commonwealth University and at The Curtis Institute of Music’s Young Artist Summer Program.
An experienced orchestral musician, Bowden has served as Principal Trumpet of New Zealand’s Auckland Philharmonia, the Artosphere Festival Orchestra in Arkansas, the Daejeon Philharmonic in Korea, and with Seraphic Fire’s Firebird Chamber Orchestra. At the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland, she held the principal chair in Pierre Boulez’s performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 6, released on CD in 2011. The Luzerner Zeitung described her playing in one word - “outstanding.” Bowden is also a member of the Richmond Symphony Orchestra and the Des Moines Metro Opera Orchestra.
Bowden’s 2015 performance highlights include Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 with the Chrysalis Chamber Players, the premiere of Joseph Hallman’s Sonata for Trumpet and Piano at the Velika Gorica Brass Festival in Croatia, the Glière Concerto with the Croatian Army Wind Band, the Arutunian Concerto with the Springfield Symphony (MO), a European Tour with the Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass, and a residency at the Marlboro Music Festival.
Bowden began full-time college studies at the age of 14, receiving an Associate degree from the Joliet Junior College. Subsequently, she earned her Bachelor of Music degree from The Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied with the principal trumpeter of the Philadelphia Orchestra, David Bilger. On a full scholarship to the Yale School of Music for studies with Allan Dean, Bowden was awarded her Master of Music degree in 2006.