Dennis Ferry
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Dennis Ferry is Principal Trumpet of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in Geneva, Switzerland, a position that he has held since 1977. Previously, he had occupied the same position in the orchestras of Jerusalem, Düsseldorf, and Rotterdam. From 1983 to 1996, he was Principal Trumpet of the Colorado Music Festival in Boulder, Colorado. Dennis was also a member of the United States Air Force Band in Washington, D.C. for four years.
Ferry began his musical education in the United States with his father, Tony Ferri, a big-band trumpeter. He obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in music from Carnegie Mellon University and a Master of Music from Catholic University.
His two solo CD’s (on Harmonia Mundi France) met with great success - the first on natural trumpet (Scarlatti and Melani); the second on cornet à pistons (works from La Belle Epoque). In 2005, Dennis recorded the Ponchielli Trumpet Concerto with the Denver Municpal Band. In 2006, he recorded "Rose Variations" by Robert Russell Bennett with the same ensemble. This is one of only two recordings of Rose Variations with the original band accompaniment on the market. The previous recording was made by John Haynie in 1958 with the University of Illinois Concert Band.
In addition to his playing career, Dennis is also very active as an arranger. “Morning Song” (Kellaway) for brass quintet is published by BIM and his brass quintet version of Grainger's "Lincolnshire Posy" is published by Solid Brass Music. Dennis has also authored an excerpt book on the use of high-pitched trumpets in the orchestra called “Piccolo Trumpets” published by Virgo Press England. He has taught and given master classes in Switzerland, Holland, and the United States.
As a specialist in baroque music, he plays natural trumpet with such baroque ensembles as Les Arts Florissants, La Chapelle Royale, Gli Angeli Geneve, and the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra.
As principal trumpet for over 33 years, Dennis has participated in over 700 live radio broadcasts and appears on over 30 commercially available recordings.
