An active soloist and freelancer, trumpet player Bruce Daugherty was a core member of the Millar Brass Ensemble in Chicago for over 30 years and can be heard on nine of the ensemble’s compact disc releases. The group received national recognition for their contribution to the successful classical music cross-over CDs “Heigh Ho Mozart!” and “Bibbidi Bobbidi Bach” (Delos) and is considered to be one of the best brass ensembles in the United States. During his time in the Midwest, he performed with the Elgin Symphony, Illinois Chamber Symphony, Illinois Philharmonic, Lake Forest Symphony, Springfield Symphony, and South Bend Symphony.

Also an exceptional educator, Daugherty was Assistant Band Director and private trumpet instructor at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois, for 20 years. He was Chamber Brass Coach at Midwest Young Artists Conservatory, a youth music program in northern Illinois, for 15 years. He has coached brass quintets that were selected to participate in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, and his students play in orchestras around the world. He founded Brassmeisters, a popular summer program for young brass players, at Elgin Community College, and later created a successful trumpet-only summer program called “Brass Knuckles” for motivated high schoolers.

In 2023, Daugherty returned to Washington state, where he performs and teaches privately in the greater Seattle-Tacoma area. He has most recently performed with the Auburn Symphony Orchestra, the Bellingham Festival of Music, the Northwest Sinfonietta, and the Olympia Chamber Orchestra.

He earned his Master of Music degree from Northwestern University and dual bachelor’s degrees in trumpet performance and music education from Central Washington University. Daugherty studied trumpet under Arnold Jacobs, Barbara Butler and Vincent Cichowicz.