I’m a musician. I play the trumpet, but I also write and arrange music. I primarily work as a university professor teaching what I’ve learned. Mentoring the next generation of musicians in this rapidly changing field, as I continue to navigate it myself, is my professional passion.

I hope this website can be a resource for those who, like me, might not have access to dedicated trumpet instruction.

I have earned a doctorate degree in music (DMA) and a performer’s certificate at the Eastman School of Music. To look at my resume now, you might not believe that I come from a town of fewer than 300 people and never really had a trumpet lesson before college.

Every musician’s story is unique and I want to share mine in hopes of demonstrating that it’s possible for a kid from the middle of nowhere to find success. It just takes dedication, careful planning, and a good bit of luck.

My Story…

Below is a comprehensive chronological telling of my journey in music so far. I include this, not to celebrate my accomplishments, but to be as transparent as possible in demonstrating how I got here. This isn’t meant as a template to follow and emulate, but to demonstrate that all musical journeys are different and opportunities often come in unlikely places. Just be open to them.

I grew up in a very small town in rural Oklahoma so my experiences in the arts were pretty limited, but I’ve always been drawn to and had a particular affinity for making music. I had my first musical experience around 5 or 6 years old playing the guitar and double bass in a small community bluegrass band. I think this childhood experience did more for my musical development than anyone might think, especially in terms of developing what would later be deemed “natural talent”.

Not directly related to music, but extremely beneficial to my trumpet playing, was my regular participation with my school’s swim team as a child. The towns in which I grew up, Talala and Oologah (‘Dark Cloud’ in Cherokee), were situation on a rather large lake. As such, all public school students were required to take swimming lessons at a young age. My older brother was a dedicated and capable swimmer, and I tagged along. The breathing techniques developed in competitive swimming have been a massive advantage to me as a trumpeter.

As I graduate to middle and high school, I participated in the band program playing trumpet. I had such a positive experience in my school’s band (shoutout Mr. Matthews) and took every opportunity I could to play my trumpet. Participating in all-county, all-district, and later all-state music, and also taking solos to festival for judging. My band director was a tuba player and he made sure I was breathing appropriately and playing most of the right notes.

In my senior year of high school I successfully auditioned to the OMEA all-state band, the first student from my school to do so in nearly 30 years. It was a nice feather in my cap, but it also lead me to meet Dr. Jason Dovel who would become my first trumpet teacher and a lifelong colleague and friend.

I decided to attend Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, OK to study trumpet with Dr. Dovel and pursue a degree in music education. I soon changed to a music performance major for a variety of reasons, but it was really just more aligned with my career goals.

At the end of my third year at NSU, Dr. Dovel took a job at the University of Kentucky and I transferred to continue my work with him. This move changed everything for me. I got to play in an orchestra for the first time in my life (they were pretty uncommon in Oklahoma), the ensembles were quite strong at UK, but the most impactful experience I had at Kentucky was the small group of trumpeters who would later become The Shades of Blue Trumpet Ensemble.

In my first year at UK we took second prize at the National Trumpet Competition. This success lead to some ambitious projects including an album of trumpet ensemble music featuring some of our favorite pieces heard at NTC. This ensemble enhanced my trumpet playing more than I can express, and the members are still among my best friends in the world.