James Vaughen joined The Philadelphia Orchestra as principal trumpet in the fall of 2026. Prior to that he was principal trumpet of the Minnesota Orchestra. He has performed throughout Europe with the London Symphony Orchestra, toured internationally with the Canadian Brass, and was awarded both first prize and the audience award at the 2023 Aeolus International Competition for Wind Instruments. In 2024 he appeared as a soloist with the Nuremberg Symphony. He previously served as assistant principal trumpet of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (2024–25), held a one-year principal position with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (2023–24), and was assistant principal trumpet of the Chicago Grant Park Music Festival Orchestra (2023–24).
Passionate about expanding the trumpet’s solo repertoire, Mr. Vaughen performs extensively in recitals and competitions. He took first place in all three divisions of the 2021 International Trumpet Guild Ryan Anthony Memorial Competition and won the 2020 Roger Voisin Memorial Trumpet Competition. He placed third in the 2021 Ellsworth Smith International Trumpet Solo Competition and was awarded the Special Jury Prize at the 2022 Maurice André International Trumpet Competition.
Mr. Vaughen has performed as guest principal trumpet with the Seoul Philharmonic, the Florida Orchestra, the Grand Rapids Symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. He performed across four continents with Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra (2015–17) and returned for its All-Star Carnegie Hall concerts in March 2024 and October 2025. He also was a member of the Pacific Music Festival Academy in 2018 and a Tanglewood Music Center Fellow in 2020 and 2021.
Mr. Vaughen began playing piano at age six and trumpet at age 10, and he often finds himself improvising poorly on the piano when avoiding other work. Before graduating from the Curtis Institute of Music in 2023, he spent a year as an AmeriCorps intern for Spring Initiative, a nonprofit after-school program in the Mississippi Delta. His teachers have included David Bilger, Tom Rolfs, Ronald Romm, and Sal Percoco. Mr. Vaughen enjoys visiting family in his hometown of Champaign, Illinois, and feels extremely lucky to have a world-class pianist as his mother, coach, and collaborator. He is eager to continue exploring and creating new music and arrangements for trumpet, particularly in chamber music settings and in venues beyond the concert hall. When he is not making music, you would most likely find him cooking, running, playing soccer or tennis, or finding some other activity to procrastinate posting on social media