Texas Trumpeter Fits Right in With International Ensemble

Bethany Vaughan, a 22-yearold Houston native, came to Festival Hill in Round Top this summer to learn from some of the greats in classical music.

She attended a visual arts magnet middle school in Houston, where she switched to trumpet and began learning jazz. From there, she went to the High School for Performing and Visual Arts in Houston. She attended Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, where she graduated this year. She will attend graduate school at Northwestern this fall.

“Being from Texas, I had heard of Round Top,” she said. “I kind of always knew about it. I was supposed to come last year, but COVID happened.”

Vaughan said she enjoys the collaboration and camaraderie among the players and faculty.

“Everyone gets along really well,” she said. “No one is a jerk or really egotistical. Everyone has been hanging out a lot, especially the wind players. The faculty are great.”

Vaughan said the Festival’s focus on classical repertoire is making her a better trumpet player.

“Playing a lot of Beethoven is not the most interesting music for trumpet,” she said. “But it’s technically difficult, a lot of tuning octaves. You have to be dialed in all the time.”

For her career, Vaughan said she hopes to eventually join a symphony orchestra, a premier military band, or possibly teach.

“Wherever I can make a living,” she said.

“The growth at a festival like this doesn’t come from the practice room,” she said. “It comes from listening to all the other people who are really, really good. You’re not even aware of it happening until you get home. The styles of music we are playing here are really important. I’m trying to get a better grasp of the classical style.

“Playing delicate, nuanced, soft stuff is what I’m working on,” Vaughan continued. “With trumpet, we’re really loud, so we have to dial it back. In the modern repertoire, we’re playing out over the orchestra. With this style, we have to blend in. We’re not the main event.”

Vaughan said Russian music is her favorite style to play.

“There’s so much soul and emotion behind it,” she said. “Russian solo pieces for trumpet are really awesome.”

Vaughan said she is enjoying her stay in Round Top.

“We’ve been going to the coffee shop,” she said. “Everyone is very friendly. I went to church on Sunday here and everyone knew each other. It wasn’t really a sermon but more of a Bible study. It’s not what I’m used to. You could tell everyone was really tight-knit, which makes sense in a town of 90 people.”

The Round Top Music Festival concerts take place every Saturday during the season through July 17. The first concert took place last Saturday, June 12.

“It’s always interesting putting together a concert with just a couple of rehearsals,” she said. “It went really well, considering some of the rehearsals were a little on the rougher side. I was happy with it.”