Shortly after I started playing trumpet, my great-grandfather, a WWII veteran, was in
hospice care. My family talked about how great it would be if I could play Taps at his
funeral. Sadly, he passed away before I had the chance to learn the notes.
After I'd been playing the trumpet for five years, I heard that many veterans receive a
recorded playing of Taps instead of a live performance and this moved me to found
the Youth Trumpet & Taps Corps.
I'm an Oklahoma Youth Orchestras alum and I played trumpet in the Mannes
Community Orchestra at the New School in New York City. I'm grateful to the music
teachers that I've had over the years, including Ashley Ray, Tom Rye, Ben Fast,
Dr. Kyle Vanderburg, Jay Wilkinson, and Jeffrey Grogan.