Minnesota Orchestra Names James Vaughen Principal Trumpet

Vaughen to succeed Manny Laureano, who will retire as principal trumpet at the end of the current season

The Minnesota Orchestra announced today that James Vaughen has won the position of principal trumpet. Currently assistant principal trumpet with the Detroit Symphony, Vaughen is a 2023 graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music. He succeeds Manny Laureano, who will retire from the top trumpet post at the end of August after 44 years in the Orchestra. Vaughen will make his first Minnesota Orchestra appearance in concerts September 18-19 at the beginning of the Orchestra’s 2025-26 season.

“James is a remarkable talent, and his playing absolutely captivated our audition committee,” said Music Director Thomas Søndergård. “This is such a key role both within the Orchestra and within our larger community, as Manny Laureano has beautifully demonstrated over the decades. We look forward to welcoming James to the Twin Cities and this great ensemble—and to introducing him to Orchestra audiences this fall.”

Vaughen is igniting interest across the trumpet world, even at an early stage in his career. He has performed throughout Europe with the London Symphony, spent four months on tour with the Canadian Brass, won the top prize at the 2023 Aeolus International Competition for Wind Instruments, served as assistant principal trumpet of Chicago’s Grant Park Music Festival and held a one-year post as principal with the Indianapolis Symphony. He joined the Detroit Symphony in September 2024 as assistant principal. A native of Champaign, Illinois, Vaughen spent a year after high school serving as an AmeriCorps intern in Mississippi. 

“I am incredibly excited to be joining the Minnesota Orchestra in the fall and am honored to follow Manny Laureano’s impressive legacy. Hearing the Orchestra live during my final audition round I immediately felt at home with the warmth of the brass sound and inspired by the musical intensity and energy throughout the entire Orchestra,” said Vaughen. “After my audition I was met with such kindness from everyone in the Orchestra that I could not help thinking that ‘Minnesota nice’ must be true. I hope that I can contribute to this culture of kindness and musical excellence and cannot wait for the 2025-26 season.”

About James Vaughen

In addition to his orchestral work, Vaughen is an accomplished recital performer. He took first prize in all three divisions of the 2021 International Trumpet Guild Ryan Anthony Memorial Competition and won the 2020 Roger Voisin Memorial Trumpet Competition. He placed third in the 2021 Ellsworth-Smith International Trumpet Competition and was awarded Special Jury Prize at the 2022 Maurice Andre International Trumpet Competition.

Vaughen performed across four continents with Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra from 2015 through 2017 and was a member of the Pacific Music Festival Academy in 2018 and a Tanglewood Music Center Fellow in 2020 and 2021.

He began playing piano at age 6 and trumpet at age 10 and in his freshman year of high school was admitted to the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra. After graduating, he took a gap year to work as an AmeriCorps teacher in the Mississippi Delta, an experience he described as both “emotionally taxing and also very emotionally fulfilling.” His subsequent instruction at the Curtis Institute of Music partially coincided with the pandemic, and he spent nearly three semesters at home. “Luckily, I had a teacher who was really good at transitioning to online learning,” he shared in an interview with Illinois Public Media. He also made the most of his time at home by performing alongside his mother, a pianist. “She was such an important musical figure in my upbringing,” he said.

His other teachers include David Bilger, Tom Rolfs, Ronald Room and Sal Percoco. His non-musical interests include cooking, running, and playing soccer and tennis.

About the Minnesota Orchestra

The Grammy Award-winning Minnesota Orchestra is known for acclaimed performances in its home state and around the world; award-winning educational programs; and a commitment to building the orchestral repertoire of tomorrow, all based on the belief that music is for everyone. Each year, Minnesota Orchestra concerts and recordings are seen and heard by more than two million people via television, radio, digital streaming and on-demand platforms. The current season marks Music Director Thomas Søndergård’s second with the Orchestra and features him conducting the return of the Future Classics concert spotlighting top next-generation orchestral composers and opera-in-concert performances of Puccini’s Turandot. It is also a season in which the organization celebrates the 50th anniversary of its downtown Minneapolis home, Orchestra Hall.

PRESS CONTACTS

Gwen Pappas, Vice President of Communications and Public Relations
gpappas@mnorch.org

Alexandra Robinson, Content and Communications Manager
arobinson@mnorch.org