Raquel-samayoa
About me
…a bravura performance…a female Herbert L. Clarke… played with aplomb…excellent playing- The Brass In Concert Championships (Gateshead, England) November 15, 2009.
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bio
Raquel Samayoa is an accomplished trumpet soloist, chamber musician, orchestral performer, and educator with a diverse and dynamic career. She is currently Associate Professor of Trumpet and co-director of the UNT Brass Band at the University of North Texas College of Music. Dr. Samayoa was previously on faculty at Tennessee Tech University and Northern Kentucky University.
Raquel is principal trumpet with the Richardson Symphony Orchestra (TX) and a Yamaha Performing Artist and a Denis Wick Artist and Clinician. Passionate about chamber music, Raquel is a member of the award-winning Seraph Brass and Lantana Trio, with whom she frequently tours both domestically and internationally. Notably, as a member of Lantana Trio, she performed at the inaugural Festival Internacional de Mujeres Instrumentistas de Metal (FIMIM) in Mexico in 2023, celebrating women in brass.
An advocate for diversity in the arts, Dr. Samayoa is a sought-after clinician, giving masterclasses, recitals, and presentations at leading universities and professional conferences. Her recent engagements include the College Music Society Southern Conference, the Midwest Clinic, the Historic Brass Society Symposium, the International Women’s Brass Conference (IWBC), and the International Trumpet Guild (ITG) Conference. She has also been a guest artist at the Prairie Music Residency (Canada), the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute at Quartz Mountain, the Interlochen Trumpet Intensive, and events at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music (Australia) and Moscow Conservatory (Russia). Dr. Samayoa serves on the ITG Board of Directors and co-hosted the IWBC in 2014 and 2022.
Dr. Samayoa has contributed scholarly articles to The Instrumentalist, Brass Band World, The Brass Herald, and the ITG Journal. In January 2020, she published Dueling Fundamentals for Two Trumpets with Mountain Peak Music. In 2021, she released her second solo album, Trumpet Songs, with Summit Records. As a member of Lantana Trio, Raquel released Crossing Barriers in the Fall of 2022 through MSR Classics. This album, featuring works by women and BIPOC composers, includes five new commissions. As a member of Seraph Brass, Raquel released Showcase in 2025 with Tower Grove Records. This album features new compositions for brass quintet by Jeff Scott, Kevin Day, Reena Esmail and Kevin McKee.
Dr. Samayoa earned her Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Trumpet Performance from the University of North Texas, where she studied with the esteemed Keith Johnson. She holds a Master of Arts and Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from West Texas A&M University, where she studied trumpet with David Ritter and wind conducting with Gary Garner.
Raquel
Online Review with Seraph Brass:
“Later, audience members traded looks of amazement at Raquel Samayoa’s technical trumpet wizardry in her showpiece, Grigoras Dinicu’s Hora Staccato.”
CD Review:
Raquel Rodriquez is a virtuoso of the first rank. The works on this program are among the most difficult of the turn-of-the-century cornet solo repertoire, a type of music noted for its difficulty. Rodriquez plays them with absolute perfection and musicality. The double and triple tonging passages are executed with delicacy and lightening speed. Lines that leap from high c above the staff to low G below the staff demonstrate her complete flexibility and command of the instrument. It’s not only Rodriquez’s flawless technique that is impressive but also her ability to shape those florid lines in a beautiful and musical manner is equally remarkable.
Rodriquez navigated the music with ease, demonstrating a rich palate of colors… The most difficult passages sounded graceful, and she had an enviable light and delicate touch in the multiple-tonguing sections.
Rodriquez’s cornet sound was velvety and florid as she easily navigated the extreme technical challenges presented in these pieces. She displayed a rare blend of virtuosic technique and fine musicality throughout.
I was very impressed, as was the audience, with her great sound, easy approach to the instrument and the confident presentation of a technically demanding work. Rachel showcased her complete control of the instrument…