Musician Biography
The TSO, Your Professional Symphony
Austin Barry took a huge risk when moving to Kansas City. He moved eight hours away from everyone he knew in order to pursue his passion.
Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Austin joined band in high school to spend more time with his friends. He fell in love with playing trumpet, and soon set his sights on becoming a full time musician. He went on to study music at Middle Tennessee State University.
After moving to Kansas City to study with Dr. Keith Benjamin at the University of Missouri – Kansas City, he soon found himself a full time musician. Austin is currently studying with Dr. Matthew Vangjel to complete his Doctorate of Musical Arts. Beyond his academic accomplishments, he won first place at the North American Brass Band Association championships with Fountain City Brass Band and is now the Principal Trumpet in the Topeka Symphony Orchestra (TSO).
With a full professional workload Austin explained,
“In addition to practicing, listening, and score study, I have to plan when not to play just as much as I plan when to practice… With the amount of playing I do, making sure I leave some gas in the tank for the next gig is far more important than I ever would have guessed. ”
The Topeka community benefits from Austin making time to play with the TSO. Austin concluded, “I hope that the audience leaves feeling emotionally moved and with a slightly deeper love for music.”