Flute Lessons in Houston, TX

Cam M

Instruments: Trombone

Why did you choose your primary instrument?
I wanted to play trumpet in grade 7 for beginners band, but I was last in line and the band director said my teeth looked good for trombone. I didn't have a clue what a trombone was, but I took to it and learned to love it. And, I did practice every day!

What musical accomplishments are you most proud of?
Many professional concerts (see www.cammillar.com) Actually, I'm thinking of my upcoming gigs and jazz work I have lined up. I don't have time to dwell on what 'was best'. I'm always thinking that the best is yet to come! That's what I work toward now. But, I'm most proud of my performance with the 'Ice Theatre of New York' in NYC's Chelsea Piers. I was in my skates playing trombone, and performing music that I'd composed based on Dante's 'Inferno'. I had some prerecorded accompaniment that I had composed and produced, and my choreography was set on me by choreographer Joanna Mendl-Shaw. I was studying with Dave Taylor at the time, and he took the night off work in order to especially come and see me perform. He really liked it....I can live with that!

Have any of your students won awards or been selected for special honors? How have they succeeded?
- Ian Calhoun of Jefferson High School, Shepherdstown WV, made the state honor band two years in a row. He's now at North Texas State University.

What do you think is the hardest thing to master on your instrument?
Where to begin? I'm still learning! As jazz legend JJ Johnson said: "You have to play the trombone every day. There's too much to learn" Not to discourage anyone, but....I think we trombone players have to be 'cut out' for the instrument. It's as tough as learning how to play the violin. Some people will take to it very naturally and it will come easily. Good for them! For us mere mortals, we must really love music in order to work on mastering the trombone.

Do you use specific teaching methods or books? (Ex: Alfred, Bastion, Suzuki, Hal Leonard) Why did you choose them if you did?
I still like the Rubank Method books (Beginner, Intermediate/Advanced). They have a great combination of basic scale practice, basic trombone exercises, and also contain duets at all levels of progress. And I write out specific warmups and other excercises.

What does a normal practice session look like for you?
For me? It varies depending on what I'm required to do or are working on for upcoming concerts or gigs. Generally, I switch between warmups I've learned from my great teachers. And I need to do a lot of scale and arpeggios practice for my jazz playing. I'd love to have a dedicated 2 hour time slot every day, but it varies from 5 minutes to 2 hours. Maybe I'll play for 30 minutes in the morning after breakfast, and then sneak other short session in during the day whenever I can without driving my family crazy!

If you have a Music Degree, what is it in (Performance, Education, Musicology, Theory, Composition, etc) and why did you choose that degree?
BMus in Trombone Performance. (classical and jazz) MMus in Composition (Studio composition) - I went back to school in order to study composition based on the fact that I'd been doing a lot of professional composing/arranging, but felt that I needed some focused study to 'fill in some hole' that were missing in my thinking. And, the Masters degree helped me obtain some private school teaching and all the adjunct college teaching that I've done.

What is your dream piece to perform and why?
The one that I haven't composed yet! Actually, I love all good music for trombone....whether they're transcriptions of Bach Cello suites or modern music by Luciano Berio (I've performed his 'Sequenza V') I'm actually wanting to perform a trombone recital somewhere in my community within the next year. It would be classical music and some jazz pieces as well. There's so much to choose from, and I'd like to revisit some music that I haven't played since my own university graduation recital (Paul Hindemith 'Sonata', George McKay 'Sonata', and others.)

If you weren't a musician what do you think you'd be doing instead?
I don't know....there's no escaping for me at this point. It's what I do, for better or worse.

What is your favorite style/genre of music to play and why?
Can't give a definite answer. First and foremost, I just want to play good music with good musicians no matter the genre or style.

If you play more than one instrument, how did you decide to start playing the second? (Or 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc)!
I use keyboard well enough to compose, record, and produce my own music for shows and recorded production useage.

Does music run in your family? Tell us a little about your musical family members.
My mother was a professional piano player/teacher/accompanist/university vocal coach/ballet accompanist. She was the first piano accompanist for the late legendary opera singer Jon Vickers! My brother was offered a scholarship to study percussion at Indiana University from George Gaber, but he turned it down and went into the sporting retail business. He was a super drummer in his time! My sister played French Horn through high school.

When did you decide to become a professional musician? Was it a gradual decision or was there a defining moment for you?
I wanted to be a hockey player, but that didn't work out (for the better!) Then, a light bulb went on inside my head when I was 19. Music! Be a musician! That's all I was obsessed with anyways. Didn't feel like there was much choice. Was it the right choice? Hey.... the music business is crazy, tough, unpredictable and changes every day right now. But a little voice inside my head says that I have to keep at it!

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