Appointed by ninth music director Daniel Barenboim, Mark Ridenour held the position of assistant principal trumpet for 31 years, beginning with the 1994 Ravinia Festival season. From 2003 to 2005, 2016 to 2019 and during the 2024–25 season he performed as acting principal trumpet.
Across his distinguished tenure with the Orchestra, Ridenour performed under music directors Daniel Barenboim and Riccardo Muti, as well as Music Director Laureate Sir Georg Solti, Principal Conductor Bernard Haitink, Principal Guest Conductor Pierre Boulez, and Zell Music Director Designate Klaus Mäkelä. He participated in 34 international tours, including the Orchestra’s first visits to South America and Mexico, as well as the 2025 European Tour that included performances at the Mahler Festival in Amsterdam with guest conductor Jaap van Zweden.
Ridenour began playing the trumpet at the age of 10. His first private lesson came when he enrolled at Asbury College, where he later earned a bachelor of arts degree. Ridenour began his professional career as third trumpet in the Lexington Philharmonic while a senior in college, continuing in this position through graduate school while also becoming a member of the Dayton Philharmonic. He later earned a master of music degree at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and completed two years of doctoral studies. Ridenour was then appointed to the trumpet section of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, where he also served as acting principal trumpet during his first season, before accepting the position of principal trumpet with the Florida Orchestra, spending six seasons there before coming to Chicago.
Ridenour credits former CSO Principal Trumpet Adolph “Bud” Herseth as the ultimate influence and mentor throughout his tenure. They played together for seven years, before Herseth’s retirement in 2004. Notable performances where Ridenour and Herseth played together included 1996 European tour performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony conducted by Solti, as well as 1997 performances of Brahms’ Second Symphony and Mahler’s Second Symphony with Haitink. Ridenour also recalls the generosity of Herseth, who lent him one of his own Bach E-flat trumpets to use in 2005 appearances as a soloist with the CSO in Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto with Nicholas McGegan conducting.
Among his other major influences and teachers are former New York Philharmonic principal trumpet and brass educator Philip Smith, former Cincinnati Symphony trumpets Marie Speziale and Philip Collins, and Eugene Blee, former principal trumpet at the Cincinnati Symphony who was Ridenour’s primary trumpet professor at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Having earned a recognition as a renowned brass clinician, Ridenour has regularly been invited to lead master classes in Canada, Europe and Asia and has also led master classes during CSO national and international tours.
Highlights across Ridenour’s CSO career include 1995 performances and recording of Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg with the Chicago Symphony Chorus under Solti’s baton that was later recognized with the 1997 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording. Additional highlights that year include the Teldec release of African Portraits by American jazz trumpeter and composer Hannibal Lokumbe with Barenboim conducting.
As a member of the CSO brass section, Ridenour performed in the original Brass Buddies concerts initiated by Principal Trombone Jay Friedman in the 1990s that included an innovative arrangement by Friedman of Richard Strauss’ Alpine Symphony, written for more than a dozen brass musicians. He has also been part of the CSO brass concerts that have grown to attract capacity audiences each year at Symphony Center. For the popular Chicago Symphony Orchestra Brass Live recording released on CSO Resound, Ridenour was featured as performer and conductor in music of Bach and Gabrieli and in the music of Walton, Grainger, Revueltas and Prokofiev.
Ridenour has performed as a soloist with the Florida Orchestra, Highland Park Strings and Roosevelt University Orchestra, as well as with brass bands in the United States and Canada. He is also heard on the Telarc release of Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony and Lieutenant Kijé Suite and the Grammy Award–winning recording of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition and Night on Bald Mountain with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
Ridenour retired in June 2025 following performances of Verdi’s Requiem conducted by Riccardo Muti. Reflecting on his time in the CSO, Ridenour said: “It has been an honor to work with incredible musicians and share great music with audiences in Chicago, across the country and around the world as a member of this Orchestra. To touch the heart and the soul of the listener is the goal of any musician, and to connect to people through music is something that I hope I can continue to do whenever I have the opportunity. I am grateful for the memories of countless great performances and experiences during my years with the Orchestra.”
After raising his three children (Michele, Amanda and Matthew) with his wife Linda, Ridenour is looking forward to moving to his farm in Kentucky to enjoy spending more time outdoors, and with his children and grandchildren. He will also continue to teach at the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music and participate regularly in performances with the Salvation Army Southern Staff Band.
