Hometown:

Rochester, NY

Year you joined the Grant Park Music Festival:

2000

Where did you study?

Northwestern University

Career highlight?

Touring Europe in orchestras

What would you be if you weren’t a musician?

Carpenter

Who is your all-time favorite performer?

Maurice André, French trumpet player

Who would you love to work with in a future musical collaboration who you haven’t already worked with?

Phil Smith, NY Philharmonic’s principal trumpet

If you could chat with any musical figure (dead or alive) who would it be?

Bach

What are you reading at the moment?

John Gutterson’s “Snow Falling on Cedars”

Signature dish?

You would not want to eat anything I cook.

Can you share any memorable stories from your experience with Grant Park Music Festival?

An extra trumpet player had only 3 notes to play in the whole piece and missed them at rehearsal. We had an “official” letter from management written out for him saying they were unhappy with his performance. His reaction was priceless!