A native of Wisconsin, Aric Brian is a freelance trumpet player and educator currently living in Tampa, Florida. He regularly performs with The Florida Orchestra, Opera Tampa, and The Tampa Brass, and has also performed with Andrea Bocelli, Placido Domingo, The Minnesota Orchestra, The Patrick Williams Big Band, The Orlando Ballet, Chuck Owen’s Jazz Surge, Maine State Music Theatre, and Holland America Cruise Lines. In 2000, Aric was selected as the principal trumpet player for the MidAmerica National Festival Orchestra at Carnegie Hall under the direction of Lukas Foss. Aric also performs regularly in the jazz and popular realms, having played with popular artists including Burt Bacharach, the Supremes, Doc Severinsen, Patti Austin, Chris Botti, and Jon Secada. Internationally, Aric has performed at the Montreux (Switzerland), Vienne (France), and North Sea (Netherlands) jazz festivals, as well as at the Portoheli International Music Festival (Greece).
As an educator, Aric is currently an adjunct faculty member at The University of South Florida, The University of Tampa, St. Petersburg College, Southeastern University, The Patel Conservatory for the Performing Arts, and maintains a large private studio. He was a contributing author of the interactive text Jazz Music, The Great American Art Form published by Faulkner Press in 2005, and has been a preliminary judge for the 2008 and 2006 International Trumpet Guild Solo Performance and Jazz Improvisation scholarship competitions.
Aric received his Master's Degree in Trumpet Performance from the University of South Florida, and a Bachelor's Degree in Music Education from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, graduating summa cum laude from both. He was also selected to spend two summers studying at the Henry Mancini Institute in Los Angeles, CA. His principal teachers are Jay Coble, Robert Baca, Charley Davis and Bill Adam.
