Thomas Rolfs, Principal Trumpet of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops, began his career with the BSO in 1991 under Seiji Ozawa. He served first as 4th trumpet, and was later promoted by Ozawa to Associate Principal Trumpet. He was promoted to Principal Trumpet by James Levine. As a student, Mr. Rolfs was a Tanglewood Music Center Fellow in 1978, earned his bachelor of music degree from the University of Minnesota, and received his master of music degree from Northwestern University. He returned to Minnesota for a five-year tenure with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. As a soloist, Rolfs has performed with the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops orchestras and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, as well as performing the posthorn solo in Mahler's Symphony No. 3 with the Dallas Symphony. At the request of John Williams, he was a featured soloist on the composer's Grammy-nominated soundtrack for the Academy Award-winning film Saving Private Ryan. He was also soloist in Williams's Summon the Heroes for the nationally televised Boston Pops concert on the Esplanade on July 4, 2001, under Keith Lockhart's direction. His varied performance background also includes appearances withthe National Brass Ensemble, Minnesota Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonic, Empire Brass, Saint Petersburg Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the American Ballet Orchestra. Rolfs is a founding member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra Brass Quintet, which is in residence at Boston University. As an educator, Rolfs has presented masterclasses throughout the world, including North America, South America, Asia, and Europe. He has served on the faculty of the Tanglewood Music Center since 1998, regularly coaches the New World Symphony, and teaches at both the New England Conservatory and Boston University.

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