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.
4BarsRest.com
bio
Raquel Samayoa leads a multi-faceted career as a teacher, soloist, chamber and orchestral musician. 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 is a founding member of Lantana Trio, a brass trio comprised of UNT Brass Faculty. 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 ensembles and frequently tours the US and abroad performing concerts and presenting masterclasses and clinics. As a member of Lantana Trio, she performed at the first brass festival for women in Mexico, the 2023 Festival Internacional De Mujeres Instrumentistas de Metal (FIMIM).
As a pedagogue, clinician, and proponent of diversity in the arts, she is regularly invited to give masterclasses, recitals, and panel discussions at universities and professional conferences, most recently the College Music Society Southern Conference, Midwest Clinic, Historic Brass Society Symposium, International Women’s Brass Conference (IWBC) and the International Trumpet Guild (ITG) Conference. She has been a guest artist at Prairie Music Residency (SK, Canada), Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute at Quartz Mountain, Interlochen Trumpet Intensive, Brass Day of the Melbourne Conservatorium (AU), and the Brass Day of the Moscow Conservatory (RUS). Dr. Samayoa is a member of both the ITG and IWBC Board of Directors and served as a co-host for the 2022 and 2014 IWBC.
Her articles have been published in The Instrumentalist, The Brass Herald and the ITG Journal. In January 2020, Dr. Samayoa released her first publication with Mountain Peak Music entitled Dueling Fundamentals for Two Trumpets. She released her 2nd solo album entitled, Trumpet Songs, with Summit Records in 2021. As a member of Lantana Trio, Raquel released Crossing Barriers with MSR Classics in the Fall of 2022. This album features works by women and BIPOC composers, including five new commissions. As a member of Seraph Brass, Raquel recorded an album of new compositions for brass quintet for Tower Grove Records. This album will be released later in 2024.
Dr. Samayoa holds the DMA in Trumpet Performance from the University of North Texas where she studied with renowned trumpet pedagogue, Keith Johnson. She earned the MA and Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from West Texas A&M University where she studied trumpet with Mr. David Ritter and Wind Conducting with Dr. Gary Garner.
Raquel
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…