Farnell Newton Composer/Trumpeter was born on March 21, 1977, in Miami, Fl where he was exposed to many forms of music from jazz, salsa, funk, and hip-hop. Moving to Philadelphia he attended the High School of Creative and Performing C.A.P.A. Farnell gained more exposure and experience into the music he truly loves "jazz". While in Philadelphia, Farnell learned a lot from his Uncle saxophonist/arranger Conny Murray and from his Uncle Sunny Murray "the father of avant-garde drumming".
Re-locating to Denver Farnell graduating from Denver School of the Arts in Denver,Farnell moved to Ohio to study at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. At Oberlin, Farnell studied Music Performance with an emphasis in jazz with Wendell Logan and trumpeter Kenny Davis. During his stay at Oberlin, Farnell Performed with many musicians from Aretha Franklin, James Moody, Muhal Richard Abrams, and Hugh Ragin.
Graduating from Oberlin Farnell decided to move to Portland, Oregon. In Portland, Farnell performs regularly with Klezmocracy, Mel Brown, Thara Memory, Cana Son, Johnny Polanco, Ricardo Lemvo, Conjunto Allegre and Darrell Grant to name a few. Farnell has recently recorded his debut CD which is co-led with pianist Marcus Reynolds.
Currently, Farnell Newton is a Graduate Assistant of Music Performance at Portland State University under the direction of Charles Gray & Darrell Grant