JO’s Corner
It is impossible to overstate my delight that Triplo Press is now in the hands of Dorian Mohar, a former graduate student of mine at Miami University (Ohio), and a proven top-notch trumpet player, pedagogue, and a tireless advocate of trumpet ensembles and trumpet ensemble literature as a highly positive tool in the musical lives of educational and civic communities.
Triplo Press: The Story
Origins. Creating music for multiple trumpets began as an outgrowth of necessity during my early collegiate teaching when my students were receiving less-than-ideal experiences in playing together as a section. In 1978 I began holding trumpet studio classes to help students gain such experiences, but literature for multiple trumpets was sparsely available. I took it upon myself to write transcriptions and arrangements to supplement printed publications, and over time colleagues became aware and I was happy to share both the concept and literature.
Growth. By the mid 80’s I had amassed over 30 works for from three to 18 trumpets and in 1989 decided to attempt to publish them under the banner of Triplo Press, a name derived from “Olcott/Oxford/Ohio” (my home town at the time) or triple “O”. The title also allowed me to use the abbreviation “TRP” in cataloguing the publications. The first 30 works in the catalogue are indeed the 30 transcriptions, arrangements, and originals I had created over the previous 10 years.
From that time until the sale of Triplo Press to Dorian in 2023, Triplo Press added 193 titles to the catalogue and normalized the use of flugehorns, trumpets in C, D, and Eb, piccolo trumpets, and bass trumpets to create new levels of tonal color.
Triplo Press has from its onset encouraged composers to write for the trumpet ensemble. To the date of this writing, Triplo Press has amassed compositions representing 156 composers and 38 arrangers and transcribers representing the Renaissance to the present. Triplo Press was and continues to be the only established publishing house that deals exclusively in music for trumpet ensembles.
Recordings. It was clear that recordings of the works in the catalogue would be of huge help to potential buyers. Thus began my interest in multi-track (overdub) recordings, which, to the date of this writing, now number over 210 for from three to 18 trumpet parts with percussion and rhythm section, depending on the composition, that I have had the pleasure of creating. The complete list of those recordings and the over 75 Triplo-oriented and independent music videos that I have also created can be accessed via the links below.
Into the Future. The future of Triplo Press is in the best possible hands as I witness the growth of the catalogue and Dorian’s continuous efforts to enrich the worldwide trumpet community with his tireless quest to provide, through music, the very best inspiration for the enrichment of the human spirit.
— James Olcott, Fall 2025