Wiff Rudd joined the faculty the Baylor University School of Music in 2002 as Professor of Trumpet and Brass Division Coordinator. From 1998 through May of 2002, he was Associate Professor of Music at the University of Arkansas, principal trumpet of the North Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and a member of the Boston Mountain Chamber Players. A San Antonio, Texas native, Mr. Rudd received music degrees from Baylor University (BME) and the University of Northern Colorado (MM). He served as Assistant Professor of Music at Oklahoma Baptist University for seven years and performed regularly with the Oklahoma Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Rudd toured internationally for eight years with the Dallas Brass and is a founding member of Rhythm & Brass, an international touring/recording chamber ensemble. An active soloist, he collaborates often with orchestras and bands. He performed the New York premiere of Joseph Turrin's Chronicles for Trumpet and Wind Symphony in Carnegie Hall and has often been a featured soloist at the annual Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago. Mr. Rudd performs as principal trumpet with the Waco Symphony Orchestra and on occasion with the symphony orchestras of Dallas, Houston and Harrisburg. He recorded Mahler's 6th Symphony with the Dallas Symphony for commercial release. In 2010, Mr. Rudd received Baylor University's Outstanding Teaching Award and was named as that year's Centennial Professor.
Mr. Rudd has performed in concert and presented clinics/master classes at more than 250 colleges, universities and conservatories across the United States as well as at the New York Brass Conference, the Rafael Mendez Brass Institute, Bands of America, the Brevard Music Center, the Great American Brass Band Festival and MENC national and regional conventions, along with the Music Educators Associations of Georgia, Oklahoma, Montana, Minnesota, Florida, Iowa, Texas and New York. He also co-authored a beginning chamber music method: Team Play: A Guide to Making Chamber Music Together (Universal Editions-1997) and has adjudicated for the International Trumpet Guild Solo Competition Finals, the Louisiana Trumpet Solo Competition, and the State Solo Contests of Oklahoma and Texas, and the Houston Symphony Concerto Competition.
Rhythm & Brass, founded in 1993, serves as a primary performance outlet for Mr. Rudd. His R&B experiences include extensive domestic tours and several trips to Japan, the Middle East, Canada and the US Virgin Islands. The group has also performed as guest soloists with numerous symphony orchestras including Rochester, Grand Rapids, Phoenix, Colorado Springs, Oregon, Tucson and the United States Air Force Orchestra in Washington, D.C. Rhythm & Brass, described by Entertainment Weekly as "...deliciously off-centered" and by the American Record Guide as "...nothing short of stunning," has produced five recordings representing a wide variety of musical styles. More Money Jungle...Ellington Explorations (Koch Jazz), was named by New York Times as "Album of the Week" in May of 1999. Sitting in an English Garden, has Rhythm & Brass venturing into the music of the Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd; Inside the Blue Suitcase features original compositions by the members of Rhythm & Brass.
An honorary member of Kappa Kappa Psi and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Mr. Rudd is also affiliated with Pi Kappa Lambda, the International Trumpet Guild, Texas Music Educators and serves as an Artist/Clinician for the Yamaha Corporation of America.
