James Vaughen joined the Minnesota Orchestra as principal trumpet in 2025. He has performed throughout Europe with the London Symphony Orchestra, toured internationally with the Canadian Brass, and was awarded both first prize and audience award at the 2023 Aeolus International Competition for Wind Instruments. In 2024 he appeared as a soloist with the Nürnberger Symphoniker. James previously served as assistant principal trumpet of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (2024-25), held a one-year principal position with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (2023-24), and was assistant principal trumpet of the Chicago Grant Park Music Festival Orchestra (2023-24).

Passionate about expanding the trumpet’s solo repertoire, James performs extensively in recitals and competitions. He took first in all three divisions of the 2021 International Trumpet Guild Ryan Anthony Memorial Competition and won the 2020 Roger Voisin Memorial Trumpet Competition. James placed 3rd in the 2021 Ellsworth-Smith International Trumpet Competition and was awarded Special Jury Prize at the 2022 Maurice André International Trumpet Competition.

James performed across four continents with Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra (2015-17) and returned for their All-Star Carnegie Hall concert in March of 2024. James was a member of the Pacific Music Festival Academy in 2018 and a Tanglewood Music Center Fellow in 2020 and 2021. He has also performed as guest principal trumpet of the Seoul Philharmonic, Florida Orchestra, and Grand Rapids Symphony.

James began playing piano at age six and trumpet at age ten, and often finds himself improvising poorly on the piano when avoiding other work.  His teachers include David Bilger, Tom Rolfs, Ronald Romm, and Sal Percoco. James enjoys visiting family in his hometown of Champaign, IL and feels extremely lucky to have a world-class pianist as his mother, coach, and collaborator. He is eager to continue exploring and creating new music and arrangements for trumpet, particularly in chamber music settings and in venues beyond the concert hall.

Before graduating from the Curtis Institute of Music in 2023, James spent a year as an AmeriCorps intern for Spring Initiative, a nonprofit after-school program in the Mississippi Delta. When James is not making music you would most likely find him cooking, running, playing soccer or tennis, or finding some other activity to procrastinate posting on social media.