Biography

Trumpeter Raymond Mase has enjoyed a diverse career as a soloist, chamber artist, orchestral player, and educator. Born in Meriden, Connecticut in 1951, his earliest trumpet studies were with his father, James Mase, then in high school with Roger Murtha at the Hartt School, and later at the New England Conservatory with Armando Ghitalla. He graduated from the New England Conservatory in 1973 and soon after joined the American Brass Quintet. As a member of the ABQ for 41 years, he performed worldwide, premiered countless new works for brass, and can be heard on over 35 of the ABQ’s highly acclaimed recordings. He contributed many of his own editions of 16th, 17th, and 19th-century brass music to the ABQ library, and was instrumental in the group’s recordings on Civil War period brass instruments. His ABQ editions of Renaissance music are published by Medici, Balquhidder and Hickman Editions.

As a soloist, Ray has appeared with the American Composers Orchestra, Boston Pops, Moscow Soloists, Naumberg Orchestra, New York Virtuosi, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Summit Brass, and at the Bethlehem Bach and Aspen Music Festivals. He premiered David Sampson’s trumpet concerto, Triptych, at the Aspen Music Festival in 1993, performed it with the American Composers Orchestra at Carnegie Hall in 1995, and recorded the work for Summit Records. He can also be heard as a soloist on recordings by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Summit Brass, the contemporary music group Parnassus, and on two solo compact discs—Trumpet in our Time and Trumpet Vocalise. As a recitalist, he performed nationally with the popular trumpet and organ duoToccatas & Flourishes during the 1983-84 concert season.

As a busy free-lance trumpeter, Ray was a member of the American Symphony and American Composers Orchestras and performed and recorded with many New York based ensembles, including the New York Philharmonic, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Speculum Musicae, Parnassus, Orpheus, and Musica Sacra. For over 30 years, he was a member of the New York City Ballet Orchestra, and retired as the Orchestra’s principal trumpet in 2019. He was also active in the commercial recording field, playing for ABC News and Sports, the 1984 Winter Olympics, CNBC, CNN, feature films, Liberty Coins, and was cornet soloist in the made-for-television movie “Barnum.” Ray was a founding member of the large brass ensemble, Summit Brass, and performed and recorded on cornetto with the New York Cornet and Sacbut Ensemble and the Waverly Consort.

Highly respected as a teacher and mentor, Ray served on the faculty of the North Carolina School of the Arts from 1977-2001, and on the faculties of the Hartt School and Manhattan School of Music. He has been a trumpet faculty member and chamber music coach at the Juilliard School since 1987, and has been Juilliard’s Chair of Brass since 1991. Recently celebrating his 51st year as Aspen Music Festival and School artist/faculty, Ray has also served on the Board of Directors of Chamber Music America and was the 2014 recipient of the FONT (Festival of New Trumpet) Award of Recognition for his contributions to contemporary brass music. His publications for trumpet include Extended Flexibility and Bicinia for Editions BIM and 10-Week Practice Plan and Vocalise for qPress. He can be heard on over 145 recordings, including as a soloist on the Albany, Deutsche Grammophon, Summit, Koch, Troy, Cambria, MHS, and Furious Artisans labels.