Known as the founder of the Empire Brass Quintet, Rolf Smedvig was more than a virtuoso trumpeter, with the number of his conducting appearances quickly approaching those of his soloist and chamber musician appearances.

When he was just 13, Smedvig made his debut with his hometown Seattle Symphony as a trumpet soloist. He made the metropolitan Boston area his home when he decided to study at Boston University and Tanglewood. His teachers included Armando Ghitalla, Rafael Mendez, and Maurice André. The year 1971 was an eventful one for him. He founded the Empire Brass; Leonard Bernstein asked him to be trumpet soloist in the premiere of Bernstein's Mass to open the Kennedy Center; and he became assistant principal trumpet of the Boston Symphony, the youngest member of the orchestra at the time, at the age of 19. He was made principal trumpet in 1979, but stayed for only two years, wanting to develop his career as a soloist and chamber musician.

In the following years, his career was full and busy. As the only remaining original member and first trumpet of the Empire Brass, he made approximately 100 concert appearances each year and visited over 35 countries. He appeared as a soloist with the Boston Symphony, the Cambridge Chamber Orchestra, the New World Symphony, and Japan's NHK Orchestra; toured as soloist with the Atlantic Classical Orchestra and the Scottish Orchestra and conducted the Cambridge Chamber Orchestra, the Honolulu Symphony, the Northwest Chamber Orchestra, the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, and the Simón Bolívar Orchestra. Smedvig taught at Boston University, Tanglewood, and London's Royal Academy of Music, in addition to giving master classes.

The 1996 Warner video The 21st Century Band Method features Smedvig, and he was a clinician for the instrument maker Selmer. His hundreds of arrangements for brass have been published by Schirmer, KRS Publishing, and International Music. A ballet, Passage, containing adapted, arranged, and original music all by Smedvig, was premiered in 1996 by the Boston Ballet. Smedvig's recordings can be found on the CBS/Sony, Angel EMI, and Telarc labels. His first Telarc CD, a 1990 release of virtuoso trumpet concertos, was nominated for a Grammy Award. The year 2002 saw the release of The Glory of Gabrieli, the 15th effort by Smedvig and the Empire Brass. He also appeared numerous times on national television and radio programs as a soloist, conductor, and with the Empire Brass. He died of a heart attack at his home in West Stockbridge, Massachusetts on April 27, 2015; Rolf Smedvig was 62 years old., Rovi