Natalie DeJong holds a Master of Music degree from Rutgers University. She began studies at the University of Calgary then pursued further studies at the Vancouver Academy of Music. She has attended trumpet and brass workshops in Alberta, Quebec, Chicago, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, and Sweden. After performing and teaching in Saskatoon, Ms. DeJong returned to the Calgary area where she now teaches trumpet at Mount Royal University Conservatory. She is a regular guest teacher working with students at Calgary schools, and she has performed with a variety of ensembles, including the new Calgary Women’s Jazz Orchestra, Jens Lindemann and his Rhapsody in Blue big band project, Altius Brass, The Calgary Creative Arts Ensemble, and the Prime Time Big Band. In 2012, Ms. DeJong developed a class called Funfare for very young children to learn the trumpet and went on to train as a Suzuki trumpet teacher in Sweden. She returned to Canada to launch the first Suzuki trumpet program in the Americas at Mount Royal Conservatory, inviting students as young as 3 years old to begin trumpet studies. Natalie is thrilled to be promoting and sharing the concepts with other trumpet and brass players throughout Canada, the U.S., and beyond.