Dr. Leah J. Hodge is proud to serve as Principal Trumpet of the North Valley Symphony Orchestra and the Scottsdale Symphonic Orchestra where she is a founding member and also serves on the Board of Directors of the orchestra.
Dr. Hodge’s twenty-seven years of performing experience have taken her to stages across the country – Carnegie Hall in New York City, Severance Hall in Cleveland, Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and the national stage in front of a television audience. Most recently, Dr. Hodge was honored to perform as a soloist on Aaron Copland’s “Quiet City” with the Scottsdale Symphonic Orchestra in their inaugural season.
Equally at home in the orchestra, big band, or chamber ensemble, Dr. Hodge strives to be a versatile performer in all musical styles by approaching the trumpet with a healthy, “singing” sound-quality from which all other skills emerge. Leah specializes in orchestral playing, with a special focus on lyricism and quality sound production across the range of the instrument.
In her twenty-five years of teaching experience, she has guided countless trumpet students – from total beginner to comeback players in retirement – achieve their goals on the trumpet with a healthy and individually -tailored approach in a positive, supportive, and professional lesson environment. One of the cornerstones of Dr. Hodge’s pedagogical approach is to create a solid framework of trumpet and brass playing fundamentals (sound production, technique, range, articulation, flexibility) on which students can then successfully build upon and apply to any style they wish to perform in.
Dr. Hodge earned her Doctorate in Trumpet Performance from Indiana University with minors in Music Theory and Jazz, her Master’s in Music from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with Cleveland Orchestra Principal Trumpet Michael Sachs, and her Bachelor’s of Music from the University of Michigan.
Her career goals are to perform full-time in a professional orchestra and teach trumpet at the university level. She currently performs with NVSO, the Scottsdale Symphonic Orchestra, and maintains a private teaching studio in addition to freelance work around the Valley. She lives with her husband and two cats Luna and Minky in Peoria, and enjoys all things retro and vintage. She is very excited to be a part of the faculty at Rosie’s House and can’t wait to work with you!