Concerto for 2 Trumpets in C major, RV 537

Antonio Vivaldi, 1678-1741

Willie Singleton, 1st Trumpet

Michael Malloy, 2nd Trumpet

United States Navy CINCSOUTH Band

Recorded Live In Naples, Italy in 1968

Conductor, Master Chief Marshall Hawkins

Antonio Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Trumpets in C major, RV 537,[1] is a concerto for two trumpets, string orchestra and basso continuo in three movements, believed to have been composed in the 1720s. It is Vivaldi’s only trumpet concerto. It was published by Ricordi in 1950 after its manuscript was found in a Turin library.

The CINCSOUTH Band was a military music ensemble stationed in Naples, Italy, that supported the Commander-in-Chief, Allied Forces Southern Europe (CINCSOUTH). Originally a small contingent of Navy Musicians in London in the 1950s, it later grew to include musicians from various NATO countries like Greece and Turkey, and was eventually redesignated as the Allied Forces Band Naples in 2004. The band is part of the larger United States Naval Forces Europe Band and continues its work today.

Vivaldi, Concerto for 2 Trumpets in C Major, RV 537

The CINCSOUTH Band served as a key part of the musical support for Allied Forces Southern Europe and its legacy continues with today’s United States Naval Forces Europe Band.

Master Chief Marshall Hawkins was leader of the CINCSOUTH Band in 1968. Hawkins was a trailblazer, becoming the first African American to lead a U.S. Navy band and the first Black Master Chief in the Navy Music Program. Marshall Hawkins later founded the Idyllwild Arts Jazz Program.