Montana State’s Sarah Stoneback named vice president of International Trumpet Guild

BOZEMAN - Sarah Stoneback has had many "mountaintop moments" as a trumpeter with more than 30 years of experience, she said, from signing with an instrument company at 14 to performing for Montana PBS' Emmy Award-winning "11th and Grant" series.

This summer, she earned yet another accolade. Stoneback, an associate professor of trumpet in MSU's School of Music, was elected vice president and president-elect of the International Trumpet Guild.

"It's very special when you're selected in the community of trumpeters after years of service," she said. "I'm coming into the position with an open heart to learn as much as I can, which will help me greater serve the community."

On Oct. 1, Stoneback will start her two-year term as vice president of the global organization, followed by two years each as president and past president. The guild represents 5,000 members from 64 countries who take part in performance, teaching and educational opportunities worldwide.

Stoneback joined the guild in 2003 and said her educational experience within the organization has been invaluable. From keeping up to date on the latest scholarship in the trumpet world to encouraging young performers as chair of the guild's scholarship competition, she has gained wide-ranging experience and built a reputation for leadership.

She also brings the same mentorship to trumpeters at MSU, where she has taught for 10 years.

This spring, Stoneback helped the Gallatin Trumpet Guild successfully audition to perform at the International Trumpet Guild's annual conference held in Salt Lake City, Utah. The group consists of the MSU Trumpet Studio, alumni and community members. Stoneback also coached the Bridger Brass Quintet in a Music Teacher National Association competition and performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., with her mentees in the MSU Wind Symphony.

"This is a snapshot of students' lives that prepares them for the outside world," she said. "When they graduate, we want that Bobcat spirit to live on in a really special and meaningful way."

Stoneback's hands-on teaching style is one that Sophia Hahner, a senior studying music education, applies in private lessons teaching her own trumpet students. She said Stoneback always ends sessions on a positive note and incorporates visual learning, often using hand gestures to explain mouth placement and spinning her hand to mimic taking in more air.

"The way she treats all her students the same but tailors her lessons to each person's learning style is something I strive for," Hahner said. "I want to help my students feel the same way she makes me feel."

Hahner met Stoneback when she was preparing for a district competition as a senior at Belgrade High School. At MSU, Hahner participates in Stoneback's ensembles and one-on-one studio lessons, where she rehearses solos for performance and evaluation. In the spring, Stoneback helped her record two solos for an international guild scholarship, and Hahner was one of about 60 students worldwide to receive the award.

Enriching music education in Montana is something Stoneback also explores in the Bobcat Brass Trio, a group of MSU faculty that often hosts workshops for schools and communities throughout Montana and beyond. The trio has also performed for the International Women's Brass Conference and Montana PBS' Emmy Award-winning "11th and Grant" series.

Maintaining relationships with band directors and students, both across the state and at MSU, is where Stoneback shines, said Elizabeth Schmidt, horn player and assistant professor in the School of Music.

"When you hear students share the same helpful tips with each other or support each other in a certain way, it's usually because a teacher started it," she said. "Sarah puts out this aura of support, and it's reflected in the way her students interact with each other."

The close-knit trio also holds principal brass positions in the Bozeman Symphony, where Stoneback has performed for nine years.

For 10 cycles each year, Stoneback sets the tone for the trumpet section and discovers more efficient ways of performing and learning music, which she passes on to her students.

The symphony's classical repertoire feels like home, she said. She and her sisters, who are triplets, grew up in South Dakota jamming in the living room with their parents or playing for hospitals, churches and nursing homes. They later formed the Stoneback Sisters and Brass - an ensemble featuring the triplet trumpeters, a trumpet quartet and a brass quintet - and were signed to represent the instrument company Conn-Selmer Bach in eighth grade.

Since 1992, the ensemble has presented at more than 2,000 educational seminars and residency programs, in addition to soloing with established orchestras and bands throughout the U.S. and Europe. The Stoneback triplets, now with individual careers, still occasionally get together for performances.

Despite her vast experience performing in venues around the world, however, there's always room to grow, Stoneback said.

"As a professor and vice president for ITG, I'm looking forward to becoming the best I can be and bringing musicians together," she said. "That's a lot of responsibility, and I don't take it for granted."