Student Profile: Dustin Nguyen, Concerto Competition winner

As the fall concert season begins, we interviewed Dustin Nguyen, a 2023 winner of Northwestern's Concerto Competition. Dustin will be playing Launy Grøndahl's Concerto for Trombone with the Symphonic Wind Ensemble on Friday, October 13 at 7:30 p.m. in Pick-Staiger Concert Hall.

When did your interest in music begin, and what drew you to the trombone as your instrument?

My parents started me on piano and guitar at a young age, so I was always interested in music from early on. As far as the trombone is concerned,  I had actually wanted to play trumpet when 6th grade band rolled around! However, fate had a different plan and the only instrument left to enroll with was the trombone. Once I started, I really got a knack for it and just kept going. Many slide glissandos later, I’m here at Northwestern!

How has your time at Bienen influenced your growth as a musician?

Being here at Bienen has made me rethink everything that I had thought worked on my instrument. The Chicago way of ease through playing has become my mantra, and I can better express myself musically because of it. There’s a special aura here; maybe it’s the proximity to the Chicago Symphony, or the tradition of excellence … I don’t know exactly what it is, but this school opened my eyes to what I can be. 

How did you prepare for Grøndahl's Concerto for Trombone? Do you have any thoughts to share about the piece's composition or difficulty?

I’ve been playing this concerto for fun since I was a senior in high school. Last year, I decided that I was finally going to work it up enough to perform it on my recital and through that process used it as my audition material for the competition. The piece is extremely intricate, with multiple characters all playing out a story within each movement. There’s so much room for interpretation that no two players execute it the same. Even now, I play it completely differently than I did back a few months ago.

Do you have a favorite piece of music, either to play or to listen to? What is it?

Ricard Strauss’ An Alpine Symphony remains one of my favorite pieces of classical music. But I do like to listen to classic rock and pop, so Take It Easy by the Eagles is both my go-to karaoke and feel-good song.

What are your post-graduation plans or your goals for your music career?

Hopefully by the time I’m finished here I’ll have the skills to achieve my dream and play in a symphony orchestra. Nothing replicates the feeling of working with a section to achieve musical greatness, and I hope that I’ll get the chance to spend my life doing that.