#184: Preparing For Solo Competitions and Handling Failure | Grace O’Connell

Grace O’Connell is a highly diverse musician with equal passions for soloing, orchestral playing, and chamber music. Grace frequently plays in the Nashville Symphony Orchestra and Huntsville Symphony Orchestra trumpet sections and is also a dynamic soloist and active competitor in national and international competitions. Most recently she was named first place winner of the Roger Voisin Memorial Trumpet Competition (2024). She was also named first place winner in the International Trumpet Guild Solo Division (2023), MTNA Young Artist Solo Division (2022), as well as the National Trumpet Competition Undergraduate Division (2022). She has been a featured soloist with the Eastern Music Festival Orchestra, Southern Stars Symphonic Brass Band, and Middle Tennessee Sinfonietta. In 2021 and 2023, Grace was the recipient of two separate URECA Grants from MTSU, aiding her in completing several solo trumpet recordings for digital release which are available on various music streaming platforms.

She is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree from Yale University and holds a Bachelor of Music from Middle Tennessee State University. Her primary teachers include John Aley, Michael Arndt, and Kevin Cobb.

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