The trumpet is a brass aerophone (made of brass) with a mouthpiece, which functions as the highest-pitched instrument in the brass section. Its morphology is based on a mostly cylindrical tube, which coils into a compact oval shape, opening into a conical bell. The sound results from the vibration of the instrumentalist's lips against the small cup-shaped mouthpiece, a vibration that is channeled and amplified by the air column inside the tube.
Acoustically, the dominant cylindrical profile guarantees the trumpet a characteristically bright, clear, and directional timbre. The modern instrument has three valves (usually piston) that allow adding extra lengths of tubing, lowering the fundamental pitch. By combining different valve positions with the alteration of lip tension (to select different harmonics of the natural series), the musician obtains full chromaticism.
The trumpet has an immemorial lineage, linked to military and ceremonial functions due to its acoustic projection. Until the beginning of the 19th century, before the invention of the valve system, the "natural trumpet" was played, limiting the melodic repertoire almost exclusively to the superacute register (clarino), where the natural harmonics are contiguous. Valves gave it full melodic flexibility throughout its range.
Teachers
Courses with this instrument
Joana Fernandes, a native of São Brás de Alportel, began her musical studies at the age of 7 at the Conservatório Regional do Algarve Maria Campina, in João Mogo's class. She completed the 8th grade of the articulated regime at the Conservatório de Música de Loulé – Francisco Rosado, under the same guidance. She graduated with a degree in Orchestra Instrumentalist, specializing in Woodwinds and Percussion, from the Academia Nacional Superior de Orquestra, with Sérgio Charrinho and Rui Mirra. She is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Music Education at the University of Évora, in Pedro Monteiro's class.
They began teaching trumpet in 2024 at the Music School of the Sociedade Filarmónica Artistas de Minerva, having previously worked as a substitute at the Conservatório de Música da Metropolitana. They are currently a member of the teaching staff at the Conservatório de Música de Loulé – Francisco Rosado.
Throughout her career, she participated in various orchestral internships and projects, notably the Orquestra Sinfónica Ensemble (2018 and 2019) and the Jovem Orquestra da Costa Atlântica. She collaborated as a reinforcement in the Orquestra da Escola de Música do Colégio Moderno (2021–2023) and the Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa (2023). In 2025, she was part of the program of the XVIII Festival Internacional de Órgão do Algarve.
Born in Carviçais, he began his musical studies at the local Philharmonic Band. He studied at the Escola Profissional de Artes de Mirandela with Maciel Matos, at the Escola Profissional de Música de Espinho with Jorge Almeida, at the Academia Nacional Superior de Orquestra with David Burt, Rui Mirra, and Sérgio Charrinho, at the Royal Northern College of Music with John Miller and Murray Greig, and at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama with John Wallace, Mark O’Keefe, and Peter Franks.
He completed a Master's Degree in Orchestral Performance at the International University of Andalusia/Barenboim-Said Foundation with Denis Konir and Rainer Auerbach, a Master's Degree in Music Education at the Jean Piaget Institute of Almada, and a Specialized Training Course in School Administration and Organization, all with high distinction.
He is a founding member of the PLAN B4T Trumpet Quartet, of the Portuguese Trumpet Ensemble, a group with which he was invited to participate in the International Trumpet Guild (ITG) in Denver, Colorado, and Glassboro, New Jersey (USA), as well as The Skyline Brass Quintet, winners of the Philip Jones Brass Prize competition in 2007, with whom he performed recitals throughout the United Kingdom and Italy.
Currently, he is a trumpet and chamber music professor at the Conservatório de Música de Loulé – Francisco Rosado, Artistic Director of the Festival Internacional de Trompete do Algarve (FITA), and B Soloist of the Orquestra do Algarve.