After playing piano, as a boy, I started playing trumpet in Grade 10. In addition to playing with my high school Marching and Concert Bands, I played in the University of Toronto Varsity Blues Marching Band and later, in another Concert Band. Currently, in addition to playing with Resa’s Pieces, I play Klesmer music with Kleskonnection, which I started a few years ago, after attending a Klesmer camp, together with a number of Resa’s Pieces members.
I first met Resa Kochberg after attending a Resa's Pieces Concert in May, 2001. My thought then was that although I had not touched my horn for a number of years, I could handle their music. After speaking to her about my previous trumpet experience, she asked me to join her Band. I have not been disappointed! As a side benefit of joining the band, I have become involved with the “performing music scene”. I very much look forward to our weekly practices, and enjoy the camaraderie which is always on display whenever we meet.
My personal goal, which I believe the Band also strives to achieve, is to continually “raise the bar”, by showing ongoing improvement, both in the quality of playing and in the complexity of the music we perform. I believe that my taking lessons, on an ongoing basis (which I believe all players should do) contributes to accomplishing this goal.
