Congratulations to the 2025 Christopher Monk Award recipient, Don Smithers!
Don Smithers was a pioneer of period instrument performance on both the cornetto and the
uncompromised natural trumpet. He also made several recordings on a Mahillon piccolo
trumpet of Baroque repertoire. His performance of Gottfried Reiche’s “Abblasen” on a natural
trumpet was used as the theme music for the American new program, CBS Sunday Morning for
nearly twenty years. As a scholar, Dr. Smithers wrote the important book, Music and History of
the Baroque Trumpet Before 1721, as well as numerous articles for the Galpin Society Journal,
the Historic Brass Society Journal, Bach-Jahrbuch, Scientific American, and numerous other
publications. He also revived Czech trumpet repertoire from the seventeenth century by Biber,
Schmelzer, and Vejvanovsky. As a performer, Smithers made several recordings between 1968
and 1980 on the natural trumpet, the cornetto, and the piccolo trumpet. He studied at Hofstra
University, New York University, Columbia University, and Merton College, Oxford, where he
earned a Ph.D. in music history. Smithers taught for many years at Syracuse University and also
served as a docent for the Royal Conservatory of the Hague in 1975.
The Historic Brass Society was pleased to present this award to Dr. Smithers in time for his
92nd birthday on February 17, 2025.
For more information about The Monk Award,
visit https://www.historicbrass.org/community/awards/christopher-monk-award
