ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA – One of the nation’s most sought after trumpet performers and teachers will help Winthrop University celebrate the reopening of its historic Byrnes Auditorium at a special April 4 event.
Vince DiMartino will appear as a soloist alongside the Wind Symphony and Jazz Ensemble during the 7:30 p.m. program. This is one of a series of events held between April 4-9 for the campus and community to see the revival of a campus gem.
Winthrop Department of Music faculty members not only welcome the opportunity to see DiMartino perform, but also to see him work with Winthrop students. Coordinating DiMartino’s visit are music faculty members Justin Isenhour and Marisa Youngs.
“We are excited that Vince will be presenting a master class and giving private lessons to Winthrop’s trumpet students during his time on campus,” said Professor of Music Elisa Koehler.
Decades of Making Music
DiMartino’s achievements in the music field have spanned several decades.
After graduating from The Eastman School of Music in 1972, DiMartino spent the next 20 years teaching at the University of Kentucky. He then accepted an appointment as the first Distinguished Artist in residence at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, where he taught trumpet, brass and jazz ensembles, and jazz history. He retired in 2012 as the Matton Professor of Music Emeritus at Centre College.
Throughout his teaching career, DiMartino has been a member of the artist faculty of many international seminars and courses. These include The Empire Brass Quintet-Tanglewood summer program, The Spanish Brass Festival in Alzira-Spain, The Kalavrita Brass Course in Greece, as well as seminars in England, Ukraine, Thailand, Germany and Canada.
DiMartino is equally known as a jazz artist. He has been the lead and solo trumpet in the Lionel Hampton Band, the Chuck Mangione Band, the Clark Terry Band and The Eastman Arranger’s Holiday Orchestra. He has also performed with some of this country’s finest college jazz ensembles and with many symphony orchestras, including those in Cincinnati, Buffalo, Santa Fe, Orlando and Rochester. He is prominently featured in many recordings of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra.
DiMartino has performed worldwide as a soloist and with artists such as Henry Mancini, Doc Severinsen, Pearl Bailey, Dizzy Gillespie and Dave Brubeck. He has also been a soloist with the Army Blues Jazz Band, the Army Brass Band, the U.S. Air Force Band of Flight and the United States Marine Band (first civilian to do so).
DiMartino was selected as the 2004 CASE Professor of The Year for Kentucky. This award is given nationally each year to one person in each state in the United States. He is also the recipient of The Governor’s Lifetime Achievement Award for 2008-09 for Kentucky.
Additional Reopening Events
Other performances are scheduled throughout the reopening celebration.
* On April 5, at 7:30 p.m., the Winthrop Chorale & Collegiate Choir, which is comprised of 70 students, will be joined by more than 80 chorale and choir alumni to form a 150-voice choir that will be accompanied by the D.B. Johnson Memorial Organ.
* On April 6, at 3 p.m., there will be a concert by the Carolinas Wind Orchestra and the event also will include the first Alumni Band Concert which will give former music students an opportunity to play in Byrnes. The D.B. Johnson Organ also will be featured.
*The finale event will take place on April 9 at 7:30 p.m. and will feature the Winthrop Symphony Orchestra. See more about the events here.
Renovations to the Historic Building
Completed in 1939 as a Works Project Administration project, Byrnes Auditorium is one of the largest venues in the Charlotte metropolitan region. Offline since 2018 for renovations and to repair damage to the roof due to a small fire, the building’s improvements were funded by the state, Winthrop and by insurance settlement funds.
Winthrop welcomed community and campus visitors in December 2024 for a sneak preview of improvements to the space, including a new elevator from the lobby to the second floor, restroom expansion, accessibility features, plaster repair/new paint, new stage rigging, flooring and curtain. A few events have been held in the auditorium since, including the All-State Choir performances for outstanding high school students.
For more information, contact Judy Longshaw, news and media services manager, at longshawj@winthrop.edu.
