Christian Garner

Trumpet player from Minneapolis, Minnesota

CHRISTIAN GARNER

BIO
GALLERY
CV
KIT

Christian Garner is the newly appointed Principal Trumpet of the Rochester Symphony (MN) and a junior at Minnetonka High School; he primarily studies with Minnesota Orchestra trumpeter, Robert Dorer, as well as Charles Lazarus. This year, Christian won first prize in the Orchestral Excerpts Division and second prize in the Solo Performance Division of the International Trumpet Guild’s Ryan Anthony Memorial Trumpet Competition. He also toured Japan, Hong Kong, China, and South Korea with NYO-USA, Carnegie Hall’s premier national youth ensemble. Previous summers included residencies with NYO2, performing at Carnegie Hall, the Dominican Republic, and Dallas’ Meyerson Symphony Center.Christian’s passion for orchestral trumpet playing won him, at the age of thirteen, the principal trumpet spot in Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies (GTCYS) top touring ensemble, Symphony. Since then, he’s toured with GTCYS to Southern France and Spain, playing Copland’s Billy the Kid, Mahler’s Blumine, and Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite at the Palau de la Música Catalana, as well as Italy, performing Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 at the ancient Greek amphitheater in Taormina. In 2024, Christian won the privilege of playing Tomasi’s Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra with GTCYS Symphony at Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis.Christian is the 2025 winner of the Solo Division of the National Trumpet Competition. You can hear him play Kennan’s Sonata for Trumpet and the famous piccolo trumpet fanfare, Ablassen, on From The Top, Episode 442. Other solo performances include Arutunian’s Trumpet Concerto with the Minnetonka Symphony and Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto with the Medalist Band. Local honors include first prize at Thursday Musical and Schubert Club as well as being a finalist in the Minnesota Orchestra’s YPSCA Concerto Competition.An accomplished pianist, Christian studied piano with Suzanne Greer and was a winner of the MacPhail Concerto Competition. Outside of music, he enjoys playing with his dogs, local mountain biking, and alpine skiing at area ski hills.