Jason Gonzales, 8th grade band member at Four Points Middle School, won the Junior Division of the National Trumpet Contest on April 2. 

In this competition, students from all over the United States submit video performances of a trumpet solo with piano accompaniment by December and in mid-January the semi-finalists were announced and invited to perform at the live audition rounds in April.  

There were seven semifinalists from all over the US: two from Texas, one from Massachusetts, one  Illinois, one from Florida, one from California and one from Georgia.

On April 2, all seven semifinalists performed at the University of Delaware and the top three performers that were selected advanced to the final round in the evening concert that same evening. The finals was a widely attended event by trumpet professionals and students alike from all around the U.S. and had categories for Junior, Senior, Undergraduate, and Graduate level solo entries, as well as Small and Large Ensemble entries for Senior and Collegiate categories.  

At the finals round, Gonzales came out as the Grand Champion for the Junior Division, winning the first place accolade as a  student from Leander ISD for a second year in a row.  

Gonzales started working with his trumpet teacher, Gilbert Elorreaga, three years ago and describes him as “incredible” and acknowledged Elorreaga for his work in helping mentor and train him in trumpet playing.