Trumpeter/Educator/Adjudicator Neil L.
King is equally at
home performing music in both classical and jazz idioms. As an active
free-lance musician, King enjoys a busy performance schedule throughout
the West Virginia tri-state area.
King currently serves as a music teacher in the Monongalia County Public Schools in Morgantown, WV.
Neil has performed numerous times as a member
of the Bobby Vinton Orchestra and recently shared the bill with 70's
pop star Tony Orlando. King performs extensively with the
Mon. River Big Band, where he holds the "jazz" chair. He also
serves in the position of principal trumpet for the Fairmont State
University Community Symphony Orchestra (a position he has held for
over a decade). Other professional groups of which King has
performed: The Huntington Symphony, WV Public Theater Orchestra,
The Phil Bowers Big Band, The Gary Marvel Big Band, Strictly Yours, The
Pastels, The Appalachian Brass Quintet, The Maestro's of Swing, The
Fairmont Town and Gown Orchestra, The Washington County (PA) Symphony
Brass/Choral Society, and The Fairmont State University Summer Festival
Chamber Orchestra.
In 2010 King was selected to conduct the Harrison County Middle School and High School Honor Bands in Harrison County, WV. Prior to the Harrison County invitation, in March 2008, he served as a guest conductor along with noted composer Brian Balmages for the WV Reg. IX Honor Band. As of late, he has been in demand as an adjudicator of concert and jazz bands throughout WV.
King holds an M. M. from The Ohio University School of Music, and a B.A. from Fairmont State College. While at Ohio University, King served as a graduate assistant to Bach/Selmer trumpet clinician, Ernest E. Bastin. King has worked as an adjunct professor of music at Fairmont State University, where he directed the schools brass ensemble. As a student, King was a member of the Fairmont State College Faculty Brass Quintet where he studied and was mentored by FSC Professor John H. Ashton.
King has a vast array or performance experience both abroad and domestically. In 1987 he performed on a concert bill at the Blue Danube Jazz Festival in Vienna Austria. He has performed in lessons or master classes for: John M. Wilds (San Diego Symphony), John H. Ashton (Retired Prof. Fairmont State), Richard P. Wellock (Retired Fine Arts Chair, Fairmont State College), George Vosburgh (Principal Trumpet Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra), Allen Vizzutti (International Solo Artist), Wynton Marsalis (International Solo Artist), and jazz educator Jamey Aebersold.
Neil is a frequent contributor to the "Trumpet
Herald", and has contributed publications to The "Jazz Trumpet
Journal". Neil is a member of the American Federation of
Musicians #580, The International Trumpet Guild, The American
Federation of Teachers, Phi Beta Mu (Band Directors honorary), The WV
Bandmasters Association, and the WV
Music Educators Association. He enjoys listening to jazz
and collecting jazz recordings. Neil and his wife Corina, a music
specialist for the Marion County Public Schools reside in Fairmont, WV.
