Raquel Samayoa leads a multi-faceted career as a teacher, chamber musician, and solo performer. She joined the University of North Texas College of Music in 2018, where she is currently Associate Professor of Trumpet, and Co-Director of the UNT Brass Band. Dr. Samayoa is a founding member of Lantana Trio, a brass trio comprised of UNT Brass Faculty. Dr. Samayoa was previously on faculty at Tennessee Tech University and Northern Kentucky University.
Raquel is principal trumpet with the Richardson Symphony Orchestra (TX) and a member of the award-winning Seraph Brass. As a member of Seraph Brass, she frequently tours the US and abroad performing concerts and engaging in educational outreach performances. Dr. Samayoa is a Yamaha Performing Artist and a Denis Wick Artist and Clinician.
As a pedagogue, clinician, and proponent of diversity in the arts, she is regularly invited to give masterclasses, recitals, and panel discussions at universities and professional conferences, most recently the College Music Society Southern Conference, Midwest Clinic, Historic Brass Society Symposium, International Women’s Brass Conference (IWBC) and the International Trumpet Guild (ITG) Conference. She has been a guest artist at the Brass Day of the Moscow Conservatory (RUS), Brass Day of the Melbourne Conservatorium (AU), 2021 Interlochen Trumpet Intensive and 2022 Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute at Quartz Mountain. She also recently served as a juror for the prestigious Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. This summer, Dr. Samayoa will serve as a faculty member at the 2023 PRIZM Music Camp & International Chamber Music Festival and serve as a guest artist at the Prairie Music Residency in Saskatchewan, Canada. As a member of Seraph Brass, she will perform at the 2023 Lieksa Brass Week inFinland.
Her articles have been published in The Instrumentalist, The Brass Herald and the ITG Journal. In January 2020, Dr. Samayoa released her first publication with Mountain Peak Music entitled Dueling Fundamentals for Two Trumpets. She released her 2nd solo album entitled, Trumpet Songs, with Summit Records in 2021. As a member of LantanaTrio, Raquel released Crossing Barriers with MSR Classics in the Fall of 2022. This album features works by women and BIPOC composers, including five new commissions. Raquel is a member of the IWBC Board of Directors and served as a co-host for the 2022 and 2014 IWBC.
Dr. Samayoa holds the DMA in Trumpet Performance from the University of North Texas where she studied with renowned trumpet pedagogue, Keith Johnson. She earned the MA and Bachelor’s degree inMusic Education from West Texas A&M University where she studied trumpet with Mr. David Ritter and Wind Conducting with Dr. Gary Garner.