2014 God and Country Concert – Guest Soloist / Conductor
Mark Ridenour is assistant principal trumpet of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He was appointed to this position by Daniel Barenboim in 1994. From 2003 until 2005, he served as the Orchestra’s acting principal trumpet.
He began his professional career when he was appointed third trumpet in the Lexington (Kentucky) Philharmonic while a senior in college. He continued in this position through graduate school and also became a member of the Dayton (Ohio) Philharmonic. Next came an appointment to the trumpet section of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, where he also served as acting principal trumpet his first season. Ridenour then accepted the position of principal trumpet with the Florida Orchestra, where he spent six seasons before coming to Chicago.
He has appeared as soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Florida Orchestra, Highland Park Strings and Roosevelt University Orchestra as well as brass bands in the United States and Canada, including the Canadian Staff Band of the Salvation Army. He can be heard on the Telarc releases of Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 and Lieutenant Kijé and the Grammy Award–winning Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition and Night on Bald Mountain with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
He began playing the trumpet at age 10 and played trumpet, baritone and tuba in the band through high school. His first private lesson came when he enrolled at Asbury College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. He earned a Master of Music degree at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and completed two years of doctoral studies. Currently, he is on the faculty of Roosevelt University. He teaches and gives master classes in Canada, Europe and Asia.
Mark Ridenour spends time away from the CSO with family, playing golf, developing his company– Martromba LLC, which manufactures and sells his invention named the TweeQer (a sound enhancement clip for brass instruments) at TweeQerZone.biz–and working at his farm in Kentucky.