William Takacs joined the faculty of West Texas A&M University in the spring of 2002. Prior to his appointment at WTAMU, he was the instructor of trumpet at the University of West Georgia. He has also served as Artist-in Residence as a member of the Skyline Brass at Iowa State University, Drake University, Grinnell College, Simpson College, and Des Moines Area Community College and has taught at Florida State University and Bowling Green State University.
William Takacs is currently the principal trumpet of the Amarillo Symphony Orchestra, Amarillo Opera, and Chamber Music Amarillo. Other performance credits of Dr. Takacs include guest appearances with the Toledo (OH), Pensacola, and Tallahassee Symphony Orchestras and as guest principal trumpet for the New Sigmund Romberg Orchestra's 1999 performance tour of Taiwan and with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Trujillo (Peru). He has also given performances and/or masterclasses at many institutions including Western Michigan University, University of Wisconsin-River Falls, Valdosta State University, Stetson University, University of Central Florida, and the Conservatorio Regional de Musica de Trujillo (Peru) and has performed across the United States, Europe, South America, Asia, and Australia. He has won numerous performance competitions, including the 1999 National Trumpet Competition at George Mason University in Washington D.C., and was one of five semifinalists selected worldwide to participate in the 2000 Ellsworth Smith International Trumpet Competition held in Bad Sackingen, Germany, sponsored by the International Trumpet Guild. He also served as an intern at the Philadelphia Orchestra music library for four years while earning his Bachelor's degree.
Dr. Takacs has also been involved in the creation of new additions to the trumpet and brass repertoire. As a member of the Skyline Brass, he commissioned a set of four works for brass quartet by the Composers Consortium of Yale University. He also premiered a work for trumpet and piano in 1997, In Memoriam, by Mark Petering, who also dedicated the work to Dr. Takacs. He is an advocate for new trumpet and brass literature, serving as a new music reviewer for the International Trumpet Guild Journal.
In May of 2006, Dr. Takacs performed the Edward Gregson Trumpet Concerto with the Amarillo Symphony Orchestra. This performance was later broadcast on NPR throughout the Texas Panhandle. In 2010, also with the Amarillo Symphony, he performed Aaron Copland’s “Quiet City” with his wife Karen (oboist and English hornist of the Amarillo Symphony.
William Takacs received the Bachelor of Music degree from West Chester University of Pennsylvania, the Master of Music degree from Bowling Green State University, and the Doctor of Music degree from Florida State University.
In his spare time, Dr. Takacs enjoys reading, exercising, traveling, and spending time with his wife Karen and his two sons, Liam and Marshall.