Biography.

Australian-born trumpeter/composer Nadje Noordhuis possesses a deeply-felt clarion tone that has been described as having ‘beyond-category beauty (Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz). Her evocative compositions meld classical rigor, jazz expression, and world music accents into a signature sound.

Based in New York for over twenty years, Noordhuis specializes in teaching, writing, and performing across genres including jazz, classical, rock, pop, global, and Irish folk. She was a semi-finalist in the 2007 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Trumpet Competition and the 2010 National Jazz Awards in Australia, and a Carnegie Hall Young Artist in 2010. Noordhuis has played on two GRAMMY-winning recordings, and seven GRAMMY-nominated albums. She regularly tours with the Maria Schneider Orchestra, Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, Anat Cohen Tentet, Matt Wilson’s Honey and Salt, and the Mark Morris Dance Group, and is a member of the electro-acoustic new music trumpet ensemble, Fifth Bridge. Compositions by Noordhuis have been commissioned by a diverse range of groups including the legendary British brass institution Grimethorpe Colliery Band, modern classical string and brass ensembles, in addition to pieces for solo trumpet + fixed media.

Noordhuis has released four albums of original compositions featuring her quintet and duo projects through her Little Mystery Records label, as well as two vinyl releases through Newvelle Records. Her atmospheric album inspired by world travels, Gullfoss (2018) was recorded live in Switzerland, featuring a lineup of trumpet with effects, celtic harp, guitar, bass and percussion. Her 2015 contemplative neo-classical album with pianist Luke Howard, Ten Sails, currently has over 17 million digital streams. Her melodic jazz quartet album, Full Circle, featuring pianist Fred Hersch, was Textura music review's #2 Jazz album of 2022. Her 2023 electro-acoustic duo record with vibraphonist/synthesist James Shipp, Multitudes, embraced new mechanisms for development with extensive editing and layering.

Her unique blend of experience, empathy and humor has made Noordhuis a sought-after educator for over twenty years, having honed her skills in teaching individualized lessons based on pedagogy of brass mentor, Laurie Frink. As well as trumpet instruction, she specializes in problem solving individual technique issues using a combination of airflow exercises and personalized brass calisthenics. She serves on the Board of Directors of the International Trumpet Guild and the Festival of New Trumpet Music (FONT), and manages the Laurie Frink Career Grant and the Laurie Frink Brass Summit.

Noordhuis has taught at Manhattan School of Music, Hunter College, Berklee College of Music, Sydney Conservatorium, and maintains a busy private international studio. She is currently undertaking postgraduate research into the pedagogical influence and lineage of Laurie Frink and her mentor Carmine Caruso.