Music has been at the center of my life since I first picked up a trumpet in the 1950’s; has it really been that long, the 1950’s? As I look back at those first years, learning to play the trumpet at Mack Elementary School here in Ann Arbor, I had no idea that I would still be at it in 2023. Then it was on to Slauson Junior High (we didn’t call it middle school at that time), and then on to Ann Arbor High School, home of the Pioneers. It was there, while a student at Ann Arbor High, that I began what turned into a lifetime vocation and hobby. I had a handful of private students and I saw each one for thirty minutes per week in their home.
I attended Eastern Michigan University and the University of Michigan, graduating with music degrees from both schools. While at the University of Michigan I was a member of the Symphony Band, the Wind Ensemble, and the University Symphony Orchestra. It was there that I met Carolyn Bybee, a trumpet player from rural Iowa, and two years later in 1983, we were married. In 1992 our son, Dylan, was born and a few years later he became the third trumpet player in the family.
In addition to the time that I spend as a trumpet teacher, I also maintain an active schedule as a performer. Throughout my performing career I have played with many community orchestras in both Michigan and Ohio. In 1970 I was invited to become a member of the Galliard Brass Ensemble, a brass quintet performing concerts in the eastern half of the United States. In 1992 we traveled to the south of France and a few years later in 2004 we were invited to represent the United States at the Harbin International Music Festival in Harbin, China. The other organization that I am actively involved with is Brassworks, a music contracting service. Brassworks provides skilled, professional musicians to churches, schools, business, and other organizations for many kinds of special events.
In 1970 I was invited by my private trumpet teacher, Jack McKimmy, to join a brass group then known as the Golliard Brass Ensemble. The group had been formed by six University of Michigan students in 1968, and one of the original trumpeters, Daniel Zwerdling of NPR fame, was leaving.
The name was later changed to the Galliard Brass Ensemble, and the group developed into a first-rate organization. Beginning in 1980, we recorded the first of four albums for the Musical Heritage Society, and I am including three samples here. “Joy to the World” from Carols for Brass (1980), “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” from Christmas Brass (1985), and the third, “Grand Choeur Dialogue” from Music for Brass and Organ (1994), was recorded in Hill Auditorium with distinguished organist Marilyn Mason.
“The wisdom acquired with the passage of time
is a useless gift unless you share it.”
~ Esther Williams