Faculty Spotlight: David Hickman
David Hickman is considered one of the world’s pre-eminent trumpet virtuosos, and has performed over 2,000 solo appearances around the world with over 500 different orchestras. His tours have taken him to Japan, Korea, Thailand, Germany, Italy, Austria, Belgium, France, Russia, Greece, Switzerland, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Australia, and virtually every major American city.
Hickman has released 19 solo albums encompassing a wide variety of repertoire. As a noted clinician, he has presented master classes and workshops on over 400 major university campuses, and has taught at the Banff Centre of the Arts (13 summers), Rafael Mendez Brass Institute (34 summers), Breman Trumpet Days, and dozens of other festivals. He has published over 40 articles, 250 scholarly editions of trumpet and brass music, and several important texts including Trumpet Pedagogy: A Compendium of Modern Teaching Techniques, The Piccolo Trumpet, The Piccolo Trumpet Big Book, Music Speed Reading, Trumpet Lessons with David Hickman (5 books), and Trumpet Greats: A Biographical Dictionary.
As a full-time university teacher, Hickman taught at the University of Illinois for 8 years (1974-82) before moving to Tempe, Arizona, where he became a Regents’ Professor of Trumpet for 37 years before retiring in 2019. He is the founder and president of Summit Brass, America’s premier large brass ensemble, founder and owner of Hickman Music Editions, and was co-founder and president of Summit Records. He is also one of the founders of the International Trumpet Guild, serving as its second president from 1977-79.
Hickman’s many honors and awards include a BM degree from the University of Colorado (1972), MM degree from Wichita State University (1974), recipient of the International Trumpet Guild’s Award of Merit (2005) and Honorary Award (2017), University of Colorado Alumnus of the Year (2011), and Wichita State University’s induction to the College of Arts Hall of Fame (2017). He was a member of the Wichita Brass Quintet, Illinois Brass Quintet, Saint Louis Brass Quintet, and Illinois Contemporary Chamber Players. His teachers include Harry McNees, Frank Baird, Walter Myers, Oswald Lehnert, Roger Voisin, Armando Ghitalla, and Adolph Herseth.