Justin Bartels
Justin Bartels is proud to call Colorado his home. After a successful audition for the position of principal Trumpet with the Colorado Symphony on May 26, 2008, Bartels began his tenure with the orchestra on July 1, of the same year. Since then, Bartels has continued to put down roots in the Denver area. As well as his continuing duties as principal trumpet with the Colorado Symphony, Bartels currently serves on the Colorado Symphony Board of Trustees and is also a member of the Colorado Symphony Strategic planning committee. He is also the Colorado Symphony musician delegate for the International Conference of Symphony Opera Musicians, a position he has held since 2010.
Justin Bartels has been active in the Colorado academic community as well. At the beginning of the 2012-2013 academic year, Bartels was appointed to a Trumpet Lecturer/Instructor position at the University of Colorado Boulder. Bartels assists University of Colorado Trumpet professor Terry Sawchuk by teaching trumpet lessons, a trumpet orchestral repertoire class and is a member of the Colorado Brass Quintet, the faculty Brass Quintet at the University of Colorado.
From 2009-2012, Bartels was the Applied Trumpet Instructor at Regis University. He had the pleasure of teaching as a sabbatical replacement instructor at the University of Denver for Professor Al Hood’s trumpet studio in the Fall of 2012. In the Spring of 2013, he continued his affiliation with the University of Denver as a Visiting Guest Artist in Orchestral studies at the Lamont School of Music. Bartels also plays with the Colorado Symphony Brass Quintet and is a founding member of the Bartels Brass, a six member brass ensemble based out of Denver, Colorado featuring some of the area’s most well respected, established and professional brass players.
Prior to arriving in Denver, Bartels had an already established professional performance career. He held Principal Trumpet positions with Columbus Symphony (Columbus, OH) (2007-2008), Augusta Symphony (Augusta, GA) (2006-2007), South Carolina Philharmonic (Columbia, SC) (2006) and The Columbus Indiana Philharmonic (Columbus, IN) (2001-2003). From 2003-2006, Bartels was a also member of the New World Symphony (Miami Beach, FL).
Justin Bartels is a proud graduate of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music (B.M. 2003), he also attended the University of Alabama (BM Studies 1996-1997) and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (BM Studies 1997-2000). While on the path to becoming an orchestral trumpet player, he had the privilege to study with many great trumpet teachers and performers including: Marie Speziale, John Rommel, Ed Cord, Alan Siebert, Michael B. Johnson and Joe Ardovino.
Bartels attended high school in Alabama and is an avid sports fan. He enjoys skiing, Denver Broncos football, the Colorado Avalanche and the Alabama Crimson Tide football program. He lives in Denver with his wife Myroslava, a Violinist with the Colorado Symphony, their young daughter and their family cat named Bama.
“Denver has everything that a person could want. We are one of the few cities that has a team from every major sports franchise and we have the second largest performing arts hub in the entire United States of America. As the premier classical music organization in the state of Colorado, it’s a joy to perform here in Denver and across this great state. The Colorado Symphony Orchestra has become a staple in our community, and I’m proud to continue to provide my talents for the citizens of Denver, Colorado today and for many years to follow”.