Award-winning trumpeter Mary Elizabeth Bowden brings her brilliant and nuanced versatility to her debut album, Radiance. The album features Bowden’s interpretations of compositions written by some of the most innovative modern American composers, highlighting her signature sound and the diverse, colorful range of the classical trumpet. A 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.
Award-winning trumpeter Mary Elizabeth Bowden brings her brilliant and nuanced versatility to her debut album, Radiance. The album features Bowden’s interpretations of compositions written by some of the most innovative modern American composers, highlighting her signature sound and the diverse, colorful range of the classical trumpet. A 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.
Featured Artists
Mary Elizabeth Bowden: trumpet
Alexandra Carlson: piano
Milana Strezeva: piano
Zenas Kim-Banther: trombone
David Bilger: trumpet
Mercedes Smith: flute
TRACKLIST
“Those in attendance enjoyed listening to Bowden nail Catherine McMichael’s Totem Voices, a multi-movement work that highlighted her excellent control and phrasing. Hall and Bowden then delivered a very impressive performance of Joseph Turrin’s Arabesque for Two Trumpets, after which the crowd roared."
“There’s something about Mary Elizabeth Bowden and her ability on the trumpet – a fluid sense of light and dark, of grace and power…”
“The opening piece, Escapade–by the easy to enjoy American composer Joseph Turrin–immediately shows off Bowden’s brilliant and colorful sound. [David Ludwig’s] Radiance is a dreamy, yet thoughtful work, awash with delicate tonality and an uneasy tranquility. This is a musical business card for a very fine young artist, and it works quite well.”
“Bowden's sound is indeed "radiant"-very clear, focused, slightly lighter than some, but marked by dramatic power and elegant lyricism. She is equally at home on the high piccolo trumpet as on the larger horns...This is a very enjoyable recording that will prove of great value to trumpeters and all lovers of new music.”
“Her piccolo trumpet tone is pure, refined, and warm—quite impressive. She sounds even better in David Ludwig’s ‘Radiance’ for piccolo trumpet and strings. It is a lyrical work with big leaps up to very high notes, and she does them with no apparent strain.”
“A splendid debut recording of classical works by trumpeter Mary Elizabeth Bowden, especially when her playing is so expressive on the eight compositions. On technical grounds, she's an exquisite player whose polished tone is heard in ample supply on the seventy-four-minute release.”
“The title-track “Radiance," an adaptation of David Ludwig’s plaintive soliloquy for oboe and strings, shows just how chaste and radiant a piccolo trumpet can be…Splendidly played... Bowden does her best work on James Stephenson's erratically stylish track "Croatian Trio".
“The title-track 'Radiance' shows just how chaste and radiant a piccolo trumpet can be … Splendidly played. Bowden does her best work on James Stephenson's 'Croatian Trio'."
