Guthman, Gary

Websites:  https://www.garyguthman.com/
Origin: Portland Oregon - Vancouver, British Columbia - Warsaw, Poland
Biography:

Gary Guthman, originally from Portland Oregon, started his career at the age of nine. As a young teen, Gary was a member of the nationally acclaimed "Seldom Six" Dixieland Band, comprised of 12 to 14 years old who traveled the United States performing stage shows and conventions, playing, singing and tap-dancing all the way. Throughout Gary's high school and college years, he performed with jazz and rock and roll bands and at 17 years old, auditioned for the acclaimed Portland (Oregon) Youth Orchestra; the oldest of its kind in the United States.

Gary played principal trumpet and in his last year with the Portland Junior Symphony (now the Portland Youth Orchestra), performed as soloist with the orchestra, and is the only trumpet player in its history (to date) to achieve that acclaim.

Mr. Guthman studied classical trumpet for the first 15 of his playing years. His teachers were Jack Dalby, Joyce Johnson, James Smith and the recently retired (after 38 years!) Principal trumpet of the Oregon Symphony – Fred Sautter.

After attending Portland State University, Gary did short stints with the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra (lead by Lee Castle), Stan Kenton Orchestra, Don Ellis Orchestra and the Louis Bellson Orchestra.

In the early 1980's, Gary Guthman moved to Canada. Within the next few years, he became known as one of Canada's premier lead and commercial trumpeters, playing on over 100, televised "ITV IN Concert" performances as well as numerous radio shows, jingles, movie sound tracks and in concert. Gary performed on television with Tom Jones, Paul Anka, directed the jazz program at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and formed his renowned "Tribute Orchestra".

He worked and collaborated for two consecutive years with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (Vancouver) on 26 television specials with Tom Jones, and an additional 26 television specials with Paul Anka. From 1985-1995, he performed and collaborated with ITV Television Studios in Edmonton Alberta on 75, one-hour “In Concert” Specials - featuring many of the most famous personalities in show business including Ray Charles,Tom Jones, Dionne Warwick, Neil Sadaka, Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, and Procol Harem.

​He has performed and collaborated with the renowned big bands of Stan Kenton, Louis Bellson, The Dorsey Brothers, Clark Terry and Doc Severinson. He toured with the Bee Gees in the early 1980’s. He has performed and collaborated with Tom Jones, Paul Anka, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, Johnny Mathis, Englebert Humperdink, Jack Jones, Paul Williams, Lou Rawls, Connie Stevens, Sergio Mendez, Burt Bacharach, Mitch Miller, Peter Nero, Tony Bennett, Roger Whitaker, Michel Legrand, Anne Murray, and Neil Sadaka.

From 1975 - 1992, Gary Guthman held teaching positions on the Canadian faculties of University of British Columbia, University of Alberta, Red Deer College, Alberta College and Grant MacEwan Community College and taught trumpet, brass, ensemble performance, jazz improvisation, orchestration and arranging. Mr. Guthman acted as producer and co-creator at International Canadian events such as the Pacific National Exhibition (Vancouver, British Columbia), Edmonton Klondike Days (Edmonton, Alberta), Canadian National Exhibition (Toronto Canada) and The Calgary Stampede and Exhibition (Calgary, Alberta).

Gary Guthman, between 1995 and 2014 wrote and orchestrated hundreds of arrangements and compositions in collaboration with some of the best orchestras in the United States and Canada including, The Toronto Symphony, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Winnipeg Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Edmonton Symphony, Memphis Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Portland Symphony, Austin Symphony and the New York Pops Orchestra (Carnegie Hall).

1995 saw the inception of Gary Guthman’s hit show “A Tribute to Harry James", followed by the creation of his ”Trumpet Greats” in 1998, and “Swingmatism!" in 2004.

Gary Guthman was the musical director and star of the award winning hit Musical Theater review “Forever Swing” which toured the United States and Canada for 2 -1/2 years from 1999 - 2002 and and won a distinguished Canadian “Jesse” Award. During that time, he was Musical Director for Michael Buble.

In 2004, Gary debuted by personal invitation at Carnegie Hall with the New York Pops, conducted by Skitch Henderson.

Since moving to Central Europe, Gary has given hundreds of concerts with his "Gary Guthman Quartet" and "The New Swing Orchestra", as well as Symphonic Pops concerts.

In 2007 he composed a suite for harp and symphony orchestra for Internationally renowned harpist Malgorzata Zalewska based on Michail Bulghakov critically acclaimed novel “Master and Margarita”. The piece was premiered with the Opole Philharmonic Orchestra in 2008.

In 2011, Gary released his next CD entitled "Solar Eclipse" - all his original compositions, on the Polski Radio Jazz Label, featuring his quartet of world-class Polish jazz artists Filip Wojciechowski/piano, Paweł Pańta/Bass, Cezary Konrad/Drums. Gary Guthman is the only non-Polish jazz artist to release his own CD in the 95-year history of Polish Radio.

​In 2014, along with his co-writer Doman Nowakowski, Gary composed the Libretto, Music and Lyrics for a new musical entitled "Letter from Warsaw".

In 2015, Gary began an association as Producer and Composer for vocal star Sasha Strunin. Their first Cd project "Woman in Black” was completed in 2016 to critical acclaim in Poland.

In 2017 he composed a concerto for harp and symphony orchestra entitled "Concerto Romantico" for harpist Malgorzata Zalewska.

The Concerto was premiered in February 2018 in Zabrze (Poland) Philharmonic Hall.

New Album – “Self-Portraits” (Autoportrety) for vocalist Sasha Strunin features the compositions of Gary Guthman and the poetry of renowned Polish poet, Miron Bialoszewski, was released in Warsaw on June, 2019 and November 24, 2019 saw the world premier of his Musical "Letter from Warsaw" at Warsaw Chamber Opera Theatre.

In January 2020 Gary Guthman's newest "Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra" (dedicated to his trumpet professor and mentor Fred Sautter) was premiered in Poland in the Philharmonic Halls of Warsaw, Łódź, Bydgoszcz and Białystok.

Gary Guthman’s latest work entitled “The Traveler” is a 45-minute suite composed for Harp, Cello, Flute, and Soprano and expects to be premiered in the Fall of 2021.

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAS as headline soloist

Austin (Texas) Symphony, Portland (Maine) Symphony, Memphis Symphony, Chattanooga Symphony, Florida (Orlando) Orchestra, Oregon (Portland) Symphony, Syracuse Symphony, Toledo Symphony, Symphony of S. E. Texas Irving (Texas),Ft. Myers (Florida) Symphony, Gold Coast (Florida) Symphony, Bismarck Symphony, Allentown (Pa.) Symphony, Toronto Symphony, National Arts Centre (Ottawa) Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony, Winnipeg Symphony, Edmonton Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Regina Symphony, Victoria Symphony Symphony Nova Scotia, Windsor Symphony, Orchestra London, Hamilton (Ontario) Symphony Niagara, Thunder Bay Symphony, Prince George (British Columbia) Symphony, Kamloops Symphony, Vancouver Island (Nanaimo, British Columbia), Symphony, New York Pops.

TELEVISION APPEARANCES as special guest:

Celebrity Review, The Tommy Banks Show, The Palace, The Tom Jones Show, The Paul Anka Show, The Rene Simard Show,

Over 50, Canadian ITV "In Concert" Performances.

CELEBRITIES performed with:

Tom Jones, Englebert Humperdinck, Vicki Carr, Aretha Franklin, Vic Damone, Paul Anka, Jack Jones, Paul Williams, Lou Rawls, Ginger Rogers, Dionne Warwick, Frankie Avalon, The Bee Gees, Doc Severinsen, Burt Bacharach, Mitch Miller, Peter Nero, Tony Bennett, Roger Whitaker, Michel LeGrande, Anne Murray, Neil Sadaka, Connie Stevens.

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