Nadje Noordhuis had her first encounters with music at an early age. The Australian-born trumpeter began her studies on the piano at age three, and switched to her current instrument in the third grade. She performed Euro-American classical repertoire in concert bands throughout her childhood, but a chance discovery of Miles Davis' Kind of Blue changed her life.Nadje was on track to earn a bachelor's degree in sound recording at the time, but the album inspired her to dive headlong into a study of jazz. She would continue on to earn a second bachelor's in improvisation in Australia before moving to New York after receiving a scholarship to attend the master's program at Manhattan School of Music. The trumpeter has shared her talents in performances with Tom Harrell, Dave Liebman, Jim Black, Ben Monder and Darcy James Argue's Secret Society, among others.In 2007, Nadje was selected as one of ten semifinalists in the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Trumpet Competition. In 2010, Carnegie Hall selected the trumpeter to apprentice with Dave Douglas as a part of their Young Artists program.After three nights of programming in conjunction with the Festival of New Trumpet Music, a.k.a. FONT (who commissioned Nadje in 2009), we are pleased to welcome Nadje and her quintet to our stage this week. They will give a special CD Pre-Release concert as a part of our debut series this Thursday night. The group includes the violinist Sara Caswell, the pianist Orrin Evans, the bassist Ike Sturm, and the drummer Jared Schonig, as well as a special guest, the percussionist James Shipp.Watch a clip of Nadje performing at the Australian venue Colbourne Avenue.