Jacquelyn Lankford is the Lead Trumpet for Jester, Executive to the CEO of Fearless Visionary Entertainment, and Principal Trumpet of the Monroe Symphony Orchestra. She earned her doctorate in trumpet performance with a related field in music education from the University of North Texas, master’s degree in trumpet performance and literature from the Eastman School of Music, and bachelor’s degree in music education from New Mexico State University.
She is the creator and founder of the Women Composing for Trumpet Competition, which was made possible by her award of the Juliet Hardtner Women in Arts and Humanities Professorship in 2019. The WCFT competition was created to add to the list of “standard” trumpet repertoire composed by women. Though there are many incredible compositions by women for solo trumpet, the only one that is considered “standard” by the trumpet community is the Pakhmutova concerto, written in 1955. It is the goal of this competition to bring light to this matter, as well as give modern women composers the opportunity to contribute to this list of “standards” and be recognized for their accomplishments. Jacquelyn’s advocacy for musicians from every background is also evident in her production of the Powerful Women in Music Concert Series, as a faculty member for the Athena Honor Band since 2019, serving as a mentor for the IWBC Mentorship Program since 2020, and being a founding member of Calypsus Brass.
Jacquelyn was selected as one of Yamaha’s “40 Under 40” for 2024, a music education advocacy program to honor educators who are making a difference in growing and strengthening their music programs. She was chosen out of hundreds of nominations as one who showcases the following characteristics: action (anticipate what needs to be done and proactively take the necessary steps that lead to a stronger music program), courage (propose and implement new or bold ideas), creativity (show innovation and imagination in achieving plans and objectives) and growth (establish, grow, or improve music education in their schools and communities).
Jacquelyn continues to advocate for people from all backgrounds with future endeavors including her album One which will feature a wide variety of composers, performers, artists, and genres. Musicians involved in this project include Summer Camargo, Katie Jenkins, Marcus Grant, Jack Townson, Sophie Wang, Maria Fuller, Nadje Noordhuis, Shayne Townson, and more.