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12 Artscene Sign up now for guitar, bass, drums, and piano OAKVILLE'S MUSIC STORE · WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2009 Oakville trumpeter blowing away the competition By Tina Depko OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF He's only 23, but he has just landed a job that those much older than him dream about. Adam Zinatelli is the new principal trumpet with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. Principal trumpet positions are a rarity, with the number of professional orchestras across North America in a continual decline. It took nine intensive professional auditions for Zinatelli to be offered a symphony position. The Oakville native said he's thrilled his first job is in Calgary. "I'm very happy that I've found a position in Canada," he said. "I spent a summer in Banff a few years ago and it was beautiful. When I went back for my trial, the plane was landing at the airport and I saw the mountains and knew I wanted to live there." It was a long process to land the principal trumpet position. The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra held a national audition last May and an international audition in November. Zinatelli was a finalist in the national audition, but orchestra personnel chose to delay making a decision until the international audition. Zinatelli made a mark at the international audition, advancing through three rounds that required performing orchestral excerpts, a portion of a concerto and a piece with the orchestra's principal trombone. There were 27 trumpeters competing for the position, but Zinatelli topped them all. "I think because the audition process is blown up so huge by students and everyone who is auditioning, that when you win, it gives you a lot of confidence because you are chosen by your peers," he said. However, winning the audition was only the first step to becoming principal. Zinatelli was asked to play with the orchestra for a month to prove he had the ability to fill the position before he was offered a contract. He spent a busy February out west, taking part in four concerts. These included a children's show, a light classics concert under the baton of the legendary Mario Bernardi, an allGershwin program that was recorded live and a performance of Holst's The Planets. RIZIERO VERTOLLI / OAKVILLE BEAVER TRUMPET TIME: Adam Zinatelli, 23, was recently offered a contract for the principal trumpet position with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. Zinatelli said the fact that he was only 23 did not affect how other musicians treated him. "I'm the youngest guy in the brass section and second youngest person in the orchestra, but they picked me," he said. "They could have picked anyone that was there. There were people older than me, more experienced than me, but they picked me, so I went in there and affirmed why they picked me. Most of the concern I had about the age difference was the social aspect, but everyone was super nice." His successful performance resulted in him being offered a contract, but this doesn't mean he can relax too much just yet. "The joy of having achieved it was quickly overshadowed by the responsibility of the job," he said. "I wasn't magically better because I had a job. I have to sound good week in, week out, I have a lot of music to learn. For the rest of this season alone, which goes to June, I put together a list of stuff I have to learn and there are like 50 pieces that I've never played before that I have to learn. And it's a lot. There's a two-year tenure process. So in two years, they'll tell me if I get tenure or if I'm not, so the pressure isn't totally off yet." Despite his latest success, Zinatelli said he actually got off to a slow musical start. He was handed the violin at age four, but with an older sister who proved to have a natural ability with the instrument, found it frustrating. "I wasn't good at it," he said. "I was not adept at that and I progressed very slowly." The violin was replaced with a viola, which proved to be a better fit for the young Oakville boy. He played the instrument in both the Halton Youth Chamber and the Halton Youth Symphony orchestras for six years. While strings weren't really his thing, brass instruments really captured his attention. He vividly remembers hearing a performance by a brass ensemble from the Toronto Symphony Orchestra as a young student at Chisholm Public School. "One of the trumpet players brought in this little post horn with no valves, with little red garland on it, and he was showing how you can play different notes on a brass instrument using your mouth only," he recalled. "That image stuck in my head and in Grade 5, when we were picking out instruments, I thought of that." He took up the euphonium in the band program at New Central Public School in Grade 5. However, for practical reasons, he switched to the trumpet two years later. "I got sick of carrying the big euphonium, so when I was in Grade 7, I switched to the trumpet," he said with a laugh. Zinatelli continued to play trumpet in the band at Oakville Trafalgar High School. He was in for a pleasant surprise when he started taking private lessons with Barton See Musician page 13