Ethan Chilton

Hey there!! I'm a professional trumpeter in Los Angeles, CA with a Master's Degree in Jazz Studies from the University of Southern California. I also spent the last year building tonebase trumpet, a world-class premium course library with some of the best trumpeters in the world, from whom I learned for the past year. My own experience includes touring around the world, playing with some of the most prolific jazz musicians in LA, dozens of recording credits, and composing my own music. I've also taught many local students from age 6 to 76 over the past few years!

My emphasis is jazz trumpet, but I can teach any style or area of interest. I perform regularly in the LA scene with different bands, as well as my own groups. Most recently, as a USC student, I won the 2022 Keep an Eye International Jazz Competition in Amsterdam, NL. I was also a semi-finalist in the National Trumpet Competition in 2020. During my undergraduate studies, I was a Merit Award Winner in YoungArts Los Angeles, chosen to perform with the Telluride All-Stars in Colorado in 2017, and studied abroad in Amsterdam in 2019. I toured the US, Canada, and Europe with rock legend John Fogerty in 2018.

Jazz musicians I've performed with professionally include Louis Cole, John Beasley, Remy Le Boeuf, Teri-Lynne Carrington, Patrice Rushen, Sara Gazarek, Mic Gillete, Bob Mintzer, Logan Kane, Alex Han, Aaron Serfaty, and more. I've performed small-group jazz, big-band jazz, R&B, Afrocuban and Salsa music, rock, rap, and more. Some of my biggest influences on the trumpet include Louis Armstrong, Rafael Mendez, Miles Davis, Roy Hargrove, and Ambrose Akinmusire.

I'm also a composer, with four projects out under my name; most recently, "The Planets," featuring nine original pieces for mixed jazz and classical ensembles. I studied composition with multiple-Grammy-winner Vince Mendoza for three years, and received 2nd place in the Irwin Kostal Orchestration Competition in 2020 for my string quartet. I recently performed with a 16-piece ensemble called Novel Utopia at the Troubadour, one of LA's most historic venues, opening for Thumpasaurus and Genevieve Artadi (of the band KNOWER). 

I love to teach and share knowledge of this craft! With tonebase, I not only built over 50 courses alongside some of the world's greatest trumpeters and educators (superstars, Juilliard professors, and more, like Allen Vizzutti, Charlie Porter, Caleb Hudson, Chris Coletti, Selina Ott, Brandon Ridenour, and more), but interviewed dozens more via weekly live streams, and created guided courses of my own for hundreds of paying subscribers. Now I'm switching my focus to my private studio, bringing the same world-class rigor and structure to all of you! Teaching keeps my mind sharp and lets me continually focus on the fundamentals; you never stop learning, and students always ask the deepest questions. I look forward to meeting you and helping you work on your goals with this incredible instrument.

I'm very flexible to the needs of a wide range of students! I've taught young children, where the focus is on keeping them entertained and creating fun musical games for them. With students in middle school, high school, and above, I tend to focus on music they're playing at school or the music they are interested in learning how to play. With adults, the focus is on creating routines that fit with folks' busy schedules. Regardless of age, I always begin students with the fundamentals of the instrument; how do we make a beautiful sound on the trumpet? How do we use our air? How do we build our range? 

For beginners, we will also cover basic music theory and how to read sheet music in the context of real songs (music shouldn't feel like math!!) 

Perhaps most importantly, I custom-write exercises for every student based on what they're struggling with and work systematically to identify the technical barriers and how to overcome them through a specific practice schedule. At the end of the day, however, music should be fun. I like to end my lessons by sharing a piece of music with students that I've been enjoying lately, or that I think they might enjoy.