Susan Slaughter

Trumpets

Principal
Symphony Women’s Association Chair

Susan Slaughter joined the St. Louis Symphony in l969 and four years later became the first woman ever to be named Principal Trumpet of a major symphony orchestra. A graduate of Indiana University, where she received the coveted performer’s certificate in recognition of outstanding musical performance, Ms. Slaughter has studied with Herbert Mueller, Bernard Adelstein, Arnold Jacobs, Robert Nagel, Claude Gordon, and Laurie Frink.

Prior to accepting a position in St. Louis, Ms. Slaughter spent two years as Principal Trumpet of the Toledo Symphony. She appears regularly in area recitals and religious programs, and has been a frequent soloist with the SLSO as well as with several other ensembles throughout the country. Her work is represented on a number of SLSO releases including the highly acclaimed recordings of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5, Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F, Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, and Barber’s Capricorn Concerto.
         
In recent years, Ms. Slaughter has performed as soloist with the Bay Area Women’s Philharmonic in San Francisco, with the Marrowstone Music Festival Orchestra in Seattle, and the Women’s Art Museum in Washington, D.C.
         
Ms. Slaughter has been on the faculty of the Grand Teton Orchestra Seminar and the National Orchestra Institute. In addition, she has served as lecture/recitalist at the National Trumpet Symposium and has served as lecture/recitalist at the International Trumpet Guild and also served on its board of directors.
         
Some of the awards and recognition Ms. Slaughter has received over the years include nomination by Ladies Home Journal for its annual Woman of the Year award, a special Leadership Award in the Arts from the Young Women’s Christian Association, and, at the invitation of then baseball commissioner Fay Vincent, she performed the National Anthem for game three of the 1991 World Series.
         
In 1992 Ms. Slaughter founded the International Women’s Brass Conference, an organization dedicated to provide opportunities and recognition for women brass musicians. As a fund-raising effort to support the International Women’s Brass Conference, Ms. Slaughter organized and produced the very popular Holiday Brass Concerts, which are now in their second decade, and are performed each December in the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis. Other cities in the United States are starting their own Holiday Brass Concerts to help support the ever-growing International Women’s Brass Conference.
         
In 1996, Susan Slaughter founded Monarch Brass, an all-women’s brass ensemble, which has toured in the U.S. and Europe to critical acclaim.