June 2025 Winner Ricardo Lazaro
Ricardo Lazaro
This issue’s featured Young Artist Award winner is seventeen-year-old Ricardo Lazaro from San Antonio, Texas, where he is completing his senior year at Town East Christian School. As a student, Ricardo ranks at the top of his class and is a recipient of several academic honors, including the Principal’s Award and the Principal’s “A” Honor Roll certificate—both of which he has received for eleven consecutive years. Additionally, he is an active member of his school community, serving as class representative for student congress, as the founder and president of the Hummingbird and Butterfly Garden Club, and as a student-athlete playing on both the varsity basketball and golf teams.
Despite attending a small private school with no music offerings, Ricardo has independently pursued music and trumpet, playing with impressive dedication and grit. It is especially noteworthy that, until recently, he was entirely self-taught, learning primarily through trumpet tutorial videos on YouTube. Outside of school, he is deeply involved in his local music community, participating in several ensembles in San Antonio, including the Youth Orchestra of San Antonio (YOSA) Philharmonic as a Rising Star Fellow, the YOSA Mariachi, and the San Antonio Youth Wind Ensemble (SAYWE).
Some of Ricardo’s recent successes include receiving the 2024 Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Young Artist Award and being selected as an S.E. Shires Rising Artist for October 2023 to May 2025. It is particularly significant that Ricardo is the youngest musician ever selected for recognition by this international program. The director of the Shires Rising Artist Program described Ricardo’s trumpet playing in a letter of recommendation, saying, “Ricky plays the trumpet with an energy and sparkle that is immediately arresting. He plays with an excitement that is infectious and a technique that is quite advanced for a trumpet player of his age and background.”
Ricardo also attended the 2022 Interlochen Arts Camp, where he performed as principal trumpet in the World Youth Symphony Orchestra, and he performed with the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (YOLA) National Festival in 2023 under the direction of Maestro Gustavo Dudamel. Additionally, Ricardo has been a finalist in both the International Trumpet Guild Ryan Anthony Memorial Trumpet Competition and the National Trumpet Competition.
For Ricardo, music has changed his life more than he initially imagined, and he plans to keep music central to everything he does going forward. He especially wants to acknowledge and thank the teachers who have guided him, including Gerald Bolgren, who took Ricardo under his wing and recognized the potential in his playing; Matthew Mireles; Rod Leonard; Troy Peters; and trumpet instructors Lauren Eberhart, Gabriel DiMartino, and Terry Szor.
Looking ahead, Ricardo plans to minor in trumpet performance and build an active musical career for himself, performing gigs and exploring jazz. Some of his favorite trumpet players who inspire him include Wynton Marsalis, Sergei Nakariakov, Cat Anderson, Jon Faddis, Miles Davis, and Arturo Sandoval. When he is not playing music, Ricardo enjoys reading, playing chess, exercising, and playing video games. He is also a highly decorated Eagle Scout. As the June 2025 ITG Young Artist Award winner, he will receive a one-year complimentary ITG membership. Congratulations, Ricardo!