From time to time, we are impressed with people and/or things that seem more important than the norm. This was the case when I first encountered the musicianship of the son of one of my best friends and college Don Little (Tuba extrordinare, University of North Texas faculty). For a short time, Don and I were members of a very active Faculty Brass Quintet at the University of Northern Iowa.
When I first learned of Nathan Little, it was through a casual communication with Don, sharing with me that his son, Nathan, was a Trumpet player. From that point on, I began to follow this talented musician’s progress and after visiting with him recently, he agreed to fill me in on his background and continuing success as a gifted musician. Please read below, in his own words so you can also follow the progress of this talented young man.
‘In 2024, I joined the trumpet section of the United States Army Field Band in Washington DC. As the Army’s premier touring ensemble, our job includes fewer ceremonies than other military bands and more concert tours across the country and around the world. Through our unit’s numerous ensembles and multimedia performances, our aim is to connect audiences to the US Army and our country using music and storytelling.
Before I auditioned for the Field Band, I was a student and trumpet freelancer in the Dallas-Fort Worth Area. I grew up in Argyle, Texas, studying with the late Keith Johnson in high school, a UNT College of Music colleague and close friend of my dad, Don Little.
I went to Baylor University for my undergraduate degree, where Wiff Rudd and Mark Schubert really rounded out the fundamentals of my trumpet playing. There, I performed in everything I could; the wind ensemble, orchestra, brass quintet, jazz ensemble, jazz combos, and marching band were all part of my development.
I continued school at the University of North Texas with Caleb Hudson for my master’s degree, where I played in the Wind Symphony under Eugene Corporon and worked as a Center Brass Quintet and Trumpet Teaching Fellow. It was during my time at UNT that college started to take a backseat; I was performing in my first regional job as Principal Trumpet of Las Colinas Symphony Orchestra and really breaking into the DFW music scene.
I did my last years of school at Southern Methodist University, which was a performer’s diploma under Kevin Finamore and Stuart Stephenson of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. As I started there, I had left the Las Colinas Symphony and began playing second trumpet with the Amarillo Symphony. While the degree itself lacked intense coursework, Kevin and Stuart pushed me to fine tune my playing and audition preparation to a competitive professional level.
I’ve been continuing to settle into my new position after about a year here with TUSAFB. During that time, I’ve been on two US tours in 2024 to the northeast part of the US and Texas/Oklahoma, respectively. We also performed at the Basel Tattoo in Switzerland and the Hamina Tattoo in Finland last summer, which was my first time travelling to Europe. We always take part in each presidential inauguration, but this year’s parade review was modified to an indoor ceremony, where our concert band played a much larger role than usual!
I’ve had a unique opportunity this year performing as a Guest Principal Trumpet with the Winston-Salem Symphony in North Carolina. This on its own is a wonderful opportunity but was an incredible coincidence for me. My mother was born in Winston-Salem, went to school there at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, and had some of her first professional performances with that same orchestra. It’s been wonderful to connect with many of her friends from her time at school and in that orchestra, and to visit family in the area”.
We will follow Mr. Little’s career and will share updates as his life of a Trumpet player continues to unfold. It is not often that one is able to enjoy the outstanding musicianship in two generation of one family.
