Where are you from originally?
Sioux City, Iowa.
How many years in the symphony?
20
Hobbies?
I love to run on roads and trails, especially with friends and dogs! I also love to do hot yoga, and take my wife Natalie’s Hot Pilates classes! Well,
I mostly love when the classes are over! But the sweat, consistency and dedication remind me of the journeys we all endure in becoming musicians.
Scariest Musical Memory?
The most memorable (and there have been many!) was one back in my New York freelancing days. I was asked to substitute as the bass trumpet player in the Metropolitan Opera for a performance of Das Reingold. Normally such an opportunity would be among any musicians dreams! This time, however, I was hired to perform the first opera of Wagner’s Ring Cycle with no rehearsal! In general, the bass trumpet is used minimally in orchestral repertoire, but Romantic composers such as Richard Wagner used the instrument in numerous solo passages. Without going into too much detail about how I found myself in this situation, I was petrified from the start of the opera and the upcoming early solo!
The conductor, James Levine, wasn’t giving too many cues, but luckily the Principal Trumpet Mark Gould who sat next me, promised to cue me at all strategic moments so that I was able to pull off the performance with no major catastrophes!
In fact, I was offered the position later and had to turn it down since all performances would be video recorded for international release, and would still have no rehearsals!! This experience I think also exemplifies one of the main reasons I became a professional musician. There’s just something about the challenge of executing a piece of music with colleagues on a stage (or pit) in front of a live audience. It’s like a high wire act with no net sometimes, but the thrill of pulling off a magical performance is a true rush.