San Diego Symphony trumpeter Ray Nowak was born in Los Angeles and has performed a wide variety of trumpet freelance engagements throughout Southern California. Mr. Nowak was an active and founding member of the Presidio Brass Quintet, and has also performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the La Jolla Music Society SummerFest, the London Philharmonic, the Pacific Symphony, Opera Pacific, the Canadian Brass and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.
Mr. Nowak was Assistant Principal Trumpet of the Orquesta Sinfonica de Tenerife for five years in the Canary Islands, Spain and has also held positions with Orquesta Sinfonica de Galicia, Spain, the Santa Barbara Symphony, Festival della Valle d’Itria, Martina Franca, Italy, Orquesta de Baja California, Tijuana, Mexico, the California Philharmonic and the Royal Band at Huis Ten Bosch, Nagasaki, Japan.
Mr. Nowak is an adjunct trumpet teacher at Long Beach City College and Southwestern College. In addition, he has taught and coached for several middle school and high school band programs throughout Southern California. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the California State University at Long Beach, Bob Cole Conservatory of Music and a Masters Degree in Music Performance from UCLA.