Gilbert Villagrana

Gilbert P. Villagrana, a conductor, trumpeter, and educator from El Paso, TX, currently serves as Limited-Term Assistant Professor of Trumpet and Conductor of the British Brass Band at the University of Georgia. He is also pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting at UGA, where he previously served as a Doctoral Conducting Associate with the UGA Bands. He earned his Master of Music in Trumpet Performance under Philip A. Smith at UGA and his Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of North Texas.

Prior to his graduate studies, Villagrana served in the United States Marine Corps with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Band at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, NC, performing as a trumpet instrumentalist, principal trumpet, brass quintet leader, and assistant enlisted conductor. He is also the first-call substitute trumpet with the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra and has performed with ensembles including the Quantico Marine Corps Band and the UGA Symphony Orchestra, in addition to being a multi-year finalist in the National Trumpet Competition. 

As an educator, Mr. Villagrana has taught conducting at UGA, contributed to the Community Music School, and worked with young musicians through UGA’s Summer Music Camps. He has served on staff with the Redcoat Marching Band, where he helped shape both musical and visual instruction, and has maintained a private teaching studio while working as a clinician across Georgia, Texas, and the Carolinas. Since 2017, he has been a brass technician with the Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps, contributing to multiple Jim Ott Brass Caption Awards while mentoring hundreds of performers. His primary teachers include Philip A. Smith, Christopher Martin, Allen Vizzutti, Dr. Jason Bergman, and John Holt.