Dr. J. Peyden Shelton has gained a rapidly growing reputation as a dynamic performer and educator.  He has been featured as a soloist with various ensembles including the Salt Lake Symphony, Reston Symphony Orchestra, Winds of the Blue Ridge, and numerous collegiate wind bands and chamber ensembles.  In 2014, Dr. Shelton was awarded first place in the Graduate Soloist Division of the National Trumpet Competition.  Since that time, he has presented solo performances and guest artist residencies at numerous universities and has been a featured artist at an assortment of music festivals including the Virginia Tech Trumpet Festival, the Fredericksburg Brass Institute, and the Association of Brazilian Trumpeters International Conference.  As a chamber and ensemble musician, he has performed with numerous groups as an ensemble member and principal player including the Utah Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic, Washington Chamber Orchestra, Symphony One, Mobile Symphony Orchestra, and the New World Symphony under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas and Esa-Pekka Salonen.  In 2019, he became a member of the internationally renowned Mirari Brass Quintet (miraribrass.com). He is also one of the founding members of Fifth Bridge (fifthbridge.org), an electro-acoustic trumpet ensemble that has collaborated with numerous musicians and organizations such as John Hollenbeck, David Sampson, Christopher Stark, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Harvard Center for Astrophysics, and the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. This ensemble aims to create and elevate the unexplored possibilities of live digitally amplified and processed acoustic performances.

As an educator, Dr. Shelton currently serves as the Associate Professor of Trumpet and Associate Director of Operations at the University of Utah School of Music.  Before joining the University of Utah, he served on the faculties at both the University of Rochester and Cornell University as a Lecturer of Trumpet.  Dr. Shelton has presented clinics and masterclasses at universities and conferences all over the United States including the International Trumpet Guild Conference, the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, ABT International Festival, and the International Horn Symposium.  His articles have been featured in the International Trumpet Guild Journal, and has been a featured presenter at the 2019 ITG Conference in Miami, FL.  He also serves on numerous committees with ITG including the ITG Journal’s Music Review Team, Book Review Team, CD Committee, Digital Conference Committee, and has served as the Chair of the Orchestral Excerpt Competition from 2018 to 2021.Peyden is also the host for the 50^th Anniversary of the International Trumpet Guild’s Conference which will be held in Salt Lake City in May of 2025.  His current research, The Trumpet Repertoire Project, enabled the commissioning of numerous works including Frank Ticheli’s “Concerto for Trumpet and Wind Ensemble” which Dr. Shelton premiered and recorded in April of 2022.

Dr. Shelton holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Eastman School of Music.  He also holds degrees from both the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music (MM) and Virginia Tech.  Dr. Shelton can be heard on Summit Records, SNOtone Records, Mark Records, as well as in the 4th edition of the Samuel Adler Orchestration Textbook by W.W. Norton & Company. His debut solo album entitled “Blazing New Trails” was released on Summit Records in March of 2023 and can be found on all streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music.

Dr. J. Peyden Shelton is a Yamaha Performing Artist and Clinician.