She is a trumpeter and teacher who grew up in Indiana
and had her first musical lessons on the piano when she was around five or
six years old.She continued
with these until her fifth grade in school and then after taking a liking
to the trumpet decided that is what she wanted to concentrate on.She became proficient in it by the
time she was in tenth grade and after she had learned all she could from
her private teacher she went and studied with a local teacher from the
community music school.She
took her further education at Indiana University and became part of the
orchestra and from here on in she decided that this was how she wanted to
perform.She became First
Trumpet for the Toledo Symphony in Ohio and then in 1969 she became
Principal Trumpet for the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and is the first
woman ever to hold this position in a major symphony orchestra to this day.Still performing for the SLSO she
has also been very involved in other projects and in 1992 became the
founder of the International Women's Brass Conference, which was organised
to help female brass musicians gain recognition.The IWBC have become known for staging an annual concert
at the Saint Louis Cathedral Basilica where members from the brass section
of the SLSO perform Holiday Brass shows, often with her own arrangements,
and such is the growth of the organisation that several other cities also
put on shows to raise funds.She stepped down as President in 1999 but continues to play an
active role, primarily in the Saint Louis concerts.During her career she has also
performed with the Saint Louis Symphony Brass Quartet and performed the
national anthem in Game 3 of the World Series in 1991.As a teacher she has been on the
faculties of the National Orchestra Institute and the Grand Teton Orchestra
Seminar and given many workshops, master classes and clinics on the
trumpet, including a lecture on her work with dentists on dental structure
and trumpet technique. Her many recordings include Holiday Brass
featuring Susan Slaughter, Drive Time: Blue Ridge Parkway and albums
with the SLSO such as American Album, Gershwin: Works for Piano and
Orchestra, The Typwriter: Leroy Anderson Favourites, Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake
and Slatkin and Munch Conduct Barber.In recognition of her contribution to music she has
received the Great Music Award from the Saint Louis Cathedral Concerts and
an award for "Excellence in the Arts" from the Saint Louis Arts Awards.
Holiday Brass recordings
Angels We Have Heard on High (Traditional
French/James Chadwick/Edward Barnes)
Music Masters 01782 (CD: Holiday Brass featuring
Susan Slaughter)
