Eric Devey

Eric has been teaching trumpet for over sixteen years, and has made a living from teaching for over ten years. He teaches primarily online, and, location permitting, in person. $30/30min and $55/60min. His students span five US states and regularly receive superior ratings at state Solo & Ensemble competitions, receive scholarships, and even go on to be full time musicians themselves. He taught trumpet and jazz band at the University of Illinois and is an in-demand collegiate clinician. Although his advanced students are highly competitive, he specializes in building embouchure and technique for younger players. His methods give beginners a significant advantage relative to peers in endurance and fundamentals by the time they reach high school. Time in lessons is spent in three roughly equal parts: technique, etudes, and repertoire (including jazz if the student desires). In each of these parts, ear training is developed alongside theory and reading music. Eric has an ability to not only show students how to build strong practice habits, but to share the characteristics of songs, artists, and music in general that are most inspiring. He works to help students want to play and listen to music, rather than feel obligated to. In his performance career, Eric has been hired to travel the country with orchestras, concert bands, jazz bands, and a variety of contemporary ensembles playing Afro-Caribbean, Afrobeat, flamenco, reggae, blues, Hip Hop music, and more. His composing and arranging commissions are featured on many label-released albums, such as Rachel Sumner's 2021 John Lennon Award winning release, “Radium Girls (Curie Eleison).” Eric's own 2021 solo album, "The Year Without A Summer," narrates Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" in a six part programatic work featuring original lyrics, and influences from jazz, flamenco, Afro-Cuban, and progressive rock. In 2024, he published the most comprehensive research to date on renowned American trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire as part of his doctorate degree at the University of Illinois.