Saxophone Lessons in Houston, TX

Instruments: Trumpet

What is your dream piece to perform and why?
My dream piece to perform is Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky. I remember hearing it as a kid because it was on Disney’s Fantasia - the segment which illustrates the growth of biological life including the Big Bang and fighting dinosaurs. Stravinsky was the only living composer out of all pieces used in Fantasia and was actually involved with the process. Once I learned about the original intent of this piece in university and how controversial it was with its carnal themes in the ballet, I became increasingly interested in it. Rite of Spring is an avant-garde piece which is something I identify with as a lover of avant-garde music. I would adore to perform Rite of Spring with an orchestra as it is a spectacular piece of music literature.

If you weren't a musician what do you think you'd be doing instead?
I cannot imagine being anything other than a musician, especially coming from a very musical family. But if I wasn’t a musician, I would imagine I would work with animals in some way. I might get involved in rescuing animals but the great thing about that is I could do that whilst being a musician. I did think about being a veterinarian or zoologist but chemistry isn’t really a strong point for me and I wanted nothing but to study music. I can’t help but be predisposed to music from a life of listening to all types of music, and enjoying off-kilter and avant-garde types of music since I was very young. Joining jazz band in college pretty much sealed the deal of my becoming a musician.

What is your favorite style/genre of music to play and why?
I absolutely love playing classical music, mastering a piece and adding yourself into it is a feeling like no other. Being introduced to this in college was more than I could have ever imagined. I used to think of playing a piece as just playing it - I didn’t realize how much you could add into music by being yourself and truly feeling the emotions you create by listening to the music. I highly encourage my students to listen to their piece over and over again - to create a story out of the music they are studying - and ultimately to insert themselves into the piece, becoming it.

If you play more than one instrument, how did you decide to start playing the second? (Or 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc)!
I started playing trumpet at age 7 or 8, but I’ve always sang. Once I started college I started exploring my voice a whole lot more - by joining different choirs and actually being a jazz vocalist in the jazz concerts (as well as playing trumpet!) After that it all span out from there. Freshman year you always take a piano course and I got really interested in piano, I’m pretty intermediate with piano and mostly use it to compose. I also learned French horn and played in the horn choir as well as play horn in the lower band. I also started playing guitar around then but I am definitely a beginner; I mostly use the guitar for songwriting and composition. My songwriting course I took my senior year reinforced my guitar playing, piano, and singing even more due to composition.

Does music run in your family? Tell us a little about your musical family members.
Absolutely! My musical family has shaped who I am. My grandfather taught me trumpet at about 7 or 8 years old, and he is really great at trumpet. We were able to play together during Christmas and it was really nice. My great uncle Larry is a church pianist. My father is a guitarist - and a fantastic one at that. He is actually in a cover band. And my brother is a drummer/guitarist/bassist. I mainly do trumpet and voice but I aspire to be more like the rest of my family and be a better multi-instrumentalist.

When did you decide to become a professional musician? Was it a gradual decision or was there a defining moment for you?
There was absolutely a defining moment for me. It was my freshman year in college when I joined the lower jazz band that you didn’t have to audition to get into. Greg Ball was the jazz director then and he made rehearsals extremely enjoyable and jazz was a way to bring us all together as one. At the time I was a Agriculture major (which totally wasn’t my style), and I realized “why am I doing anything other than music?”. This question sparked my decision to make music my career and I am so glad I’m not doing anything else that isn’t me.

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