Biography
Originally from Mt. Carmel, Pennsylvania, Nark began playing the trumpet at the age of six. His father Leon, also a trumpeter, was his first teacher. At seven, he was exposed to Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Maynard Ferguson, and Doc Severinsen. Soon after graduating from high school, Nark auditioned and was accepted by the United States Air Force Band in Washington, D.C., where he became a member of its premier jazz ensemble, the Airmen of Note. He occupied the lead and jazz trumpet chair for nearly 20 years, until his retirement in 1993. By Presidential Order, he was presented with the Meritorious Service Medal for his "distinctive accomplishments and contributions" while a member of this universally respected ensemble.
Since retiring from the Airmen of Note, Nark leads a quintet in the Washington, DC metropolitan area and travels extensively throughout the country and abroad, performing as guest artist at various club and jazz festival venues. His group has been called "consistently brilliant". He is an instructor for a summer jazz camp offered by the Landon School in Bethesda, Maryland. In addition, he gives private lessons and is a Yamaha Clinician.
Nark has also performed as lead trumpet for the inaugural session of the Smithsonian Institution's Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, conducted by Gunther Schuller and David Baker. More recently, he performed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.
Read more about this topic: Vaughn Nark
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