JON PAUL DANTE - Principal Trumpet, Malaysian Philharmonic

Hailed as one of the "stars" of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra by the American Record Guide, native Bostonian Jon Paul Dante was appointed as Section Principal Trumpet of the MPO in 2006 after serving as principal trumpet for both the New Mexico Symphony and Santa Fe Symphony Orchestras.

Jon began playing the trumpet at age nine under the careful instruction of Vincent Macrina, Director of Bands at Brockton High School in Brockton, Massachusetts. By age eleven, he had decided on a career in music and began researching college music programs. He began his professional career in music as an undergraduate at the Boston University School of Music where he was a scholarship student of Roger Louis Voisin.

By the completion of his studies at Boston University, Jon was already touring extensively throughout the United States with the Paramount Brass Quintet; an award winning and critically acclaimed chamber ensemble of which he is both the founder and solo trumpet. The Paramount Brass soon thereafter began touring throughout the world, performing an average of 125 concerts a season as well as conducting teaching residencies at major colleges and universities worldwide.

A decade later, Jon was appointed as principal trumpet for the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, and was later appointed as principal trumpet for the Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra. During his seven season tenure with the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, Jon was a frequent featured soloist, served on several musician committees, and was a member of the board of directors.

Throughout his career, Jon has performed with distinguished artists ranging from Pavoratti, Van Cliburn, and Joshua Bell to Victor Borge, Yanni and Nestor Torrez. More recently, he has been sought out as guest principal trumpet by both the Puerto Rico Symphony and Singapore Symphony Orchestras. Other career highlights include holding the post of principal trumpet with the St. Cecilia Chamber Orchestra, the Boston Orchestra, and the Berkshire Opera Orchestra as well as performances with the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra, the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, the Bellingham Music Festival Orchestra in Bellingham, Washington and the Macao Orchestra in Macao, China. Jon has performed on some of the worlds most prestigious concert stages including those of Carnegie Hall, Spivey Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Washing Center for the Performing Arts, and the National Concert Hall in Taipei, Taiwan.

An avid music educator, Jon has held positions on the faculties of the Maryland Summer Center for the Arts, the North Shore Conservatory, and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute; as well as adjunct professor of trumpet at the Boston Conservatory of Music from 1995-1999. He has also been a guest clinician at major conservatories and universities throughout the United States and Japan.

As a recording artist, Jon can be heard on several Centaur Records releases with Paramount Brass, as well as on two Summit Records releases which feature both Philip Smith and Joseph Alessi of the New York Philharmonic. He has recently completed his first recording with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra on the Biss label of the 'Asreal' Symphony by Joseph Suk, scheduled for worldwide release in April of 2009.

Active also both as an arranger and composer, Jon has arranged and composed works for both piano and brass quintet, many of which have been recorded by the Paramount Brass.

Fluent in virtually every musical genre, Jon has performed and recorded with the acclaimed Albuquerque-based ska band Danny Winn and the Earthlings and can be heard on the soundtrack for the recent award-winning film "Sicko" by Michael Moore.

Away from the trumpet, Jon enjoys golf and is an avid motorcycle enthusiast.

Jon is proud to be a trumpet artist and clinician for Conn-Selmer and performs on Bach Stradivarius trumpets.