Trumpet Champions Inc

"Honoring Johnny Carson, Ed McMahon, & Doc Severinsen with more Music, Lights, and Memories in 2026 through multiple live, in-person performances."

First Things First:

You can now easily make your donation and support us with your PAYPAL account. It's easy and you use PAYPAL all the time, right?

So why not use it right now for something that is transformative and will surely make our world that much better in 2026?

WE DID IT!

In 2025 we finally achieved our very first live, in-person performance honoring Doc Severinsen, Johnny Carson, and Ed McMahon!

We did it because of you and your generosity at our year end fundraiser that ended 2024.

From your support and donations last year we:

-purchased all the equipment necessary for a live performance including microphones, cables, mixers, speaker system, stands, video projector, projector screen, utility cart, huge posters standing 6' tall adding ambience and clarity to the performance, musical arrangements and professional, high quality backing tracks, rehearsal fees, rehearsal space fees, musician performance fees and more!

If you’re a fan of Johnny Carson, Doc Severinsen, Ed McMahon, or the timeless music of The Tonight Show, please consider supporting us!

REWIND

Since 2020, Trumpet Champions had been attempting many times to acquire the equipment, auditorium, performers, rehearsal space and more to be able to have our very first performance and it happened on Doc Severinsen's 98th Birthday Monday July 7, 2025.

The performance was almost flawless if you attended in person, but for those that saw the livestream, uh oh, yes, there were some issues.

We ran out of money in April 2025 and all the expenses that came after came out of Executive Director, Kurt Thompson's pockets...which don't go that deep. ha ha.

WHAT IS NEW FOR THIS YEAR'S FUNDRASIER?

The finale of this year's fundraiser will culminate with Kurt Thompson performing via live stream on facebook and youtube parts of the tribute show from Doc's 98th Birthday this past July 7, 2025.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR DECEMBER 31ST, 2025, NEW YEAR'S EVE BEGINNING AT 8PM CENTRAL TIME AND GOING UNTIL KURT'S LIP FALLS OFF OR UNTIL WE ACHIEVE OUR FUNDRAISING GOAL OF $15,000!

What We’re Raising Funds For

Thus our goal for this fundraiser is to be able to raise enough money to not only have MULTIPLE performances, but higher quality sound and video.

This means we need to have help during the live performances; someone to adjust sound, light, and video.

Having 1 performance per year will not achieve our mission. Yes, it is a start and it help us on our way, but we need multiple performances to begin building a reputation and to begin achieving our mission.

We also need a vehicle. A van or minivan would be the best because it got to the point my little Acura could not hold all the equipment safely nor could I drive safely as my vision was blocked all around due to equipment piled up to the car's ceiling in the front seat and back seats.

We could rent a vehicle, but since we are shooting for multiple performances it might be more efficient to have our own van.

Depending on the outcome of this year's fundraiser, we will either rent a van for several performances or buy an older model budget type van.

POSTPONING GETTING MUSICIANS FOR NOW

Due to the exteme expense for getting 7-9 musicians involved for these performances, we are putting that endeavor on the back burner for 1-2 years until we have achieved some good branding and reputation first.

Why?

If we used funds from this year's fundraiser to hire musicians, we won't have enough money to transport all our equipment to each performance and we would not be able to afford a sound person to ensure our sound quality during performance especially when we live stream.

So, unless we hit the jackpot, for now, we need to keep our feet on the ground and forge ahead with higher quality live performances in 2026 with our arrangements and backing tracks.

Our performances won't always be about Johnny Ed, and Doc because there are plenty of great trumpet players from the 20th century.

We have arrangements all ready to go that were funded by people like you in our first few fundraisers, but there is a catch:

Those arrangements require live musicians and live musicians that can play this caliber of music don't come cheap.

So, we are focusing another year on getting the live performances to happen honoring names that have recognition by the millions: Johnny Carson, Ed McMahon, and Doc Severinsen were viewed by close to 100 million Americans from 1962 to 1992 so yeah, there are a lot of folks that instantly know who we are trying to honor in these performances.

You can make a difference by donating today to Trumpet Champions Inc.

The mission of Trumpet Champions Inc is to revitalize the greatest trumpet music of the 20th century and to empower students in underserved communities through music education, fostering creativity, confidence, and academic growth.

So, if we can achieve our goal, 2026 will be full of opportunities including many live performances with hopefully at least 1 or 2 of these performances in front of kids at their middle school or high school!

Without your support, we are left:

ALL DRESSED UP WITH NOWHERE TO GO!

Every donation directly supports the tools, talent, and resources needed to make this tribute extraordinary. This fundraiser has been deeply cut down to the bare essentials to deliver a quality, professional tribute.

Impact of Your Support

Your generosity will make this tribute possible and help bring the magic of Johnny Carson, Ed McMahon, and Doc Severinsen to life and eventually (in years to come) enable us to branch out to honor other fine trumpet players from the 20th century like Dizzy Gillespie, Chet Baker, Maynard Ferguson, Bud Brisbois, Al Hirt, and many, many more.

With your help, we can:

Recreate the vibrant sound that inspired a generation of trumpet players.

Preserve the legacy of these icons for audiences of all ages.

Inspire the next generation of musicians to follow in Doc’s footsteps.

Please help Us Now

If you’re a fan of Johnny Carson, Ed McMahon, and Doc Severinsen, or the timeless music of The Tonight Show, please consider supporting this tribute.

Since the end of the Johnny Carson Tonight Show in 1992, when was the last time you were able to reconnect with the magic of that show in person, in real life?

After more than 30 years, this is your first opportunity to take this sentimental journey...

Your donation will help bring this vision to life and honor these legends who left an indelible mark on entertainment. Your support will also allow you to take a walk down memory lane in real life when you attend one of these tribute performances.

We are also factoring in that it may not be feasible for some of you to attend in person, thus the reason we need help from a sound/video person to help us stream our live performance online so you can still have fund and enjoy our performance on your phone, tv, or other device.

Look around. It doesn't appear that there are any other efforts to keep these great times and music from yesteryear alive. Please give us a chance.

Click ‘Donate Now’ to make a difference and help us celebrate this unforgettable legacy!”