Farewell to an Old Friend

I said farewell to an old friend today (don’t worry, nobody died.) A local music charity (the Future Arts Foundation, https://www.fafcolorado.org/ ) is collecting donations for students who lost instruments during the Marshall Fire—-over 200 school aged musicians lost their instruments when their families home’s burned. We had a few instruments around the house that weren’t being used anymore, so it was an easy decision to donate them; those students need them much more than we do. One of the instruments that we donated was a trumpet I’ve had for over forty years.

I got that trumpet my freshman year in high school. My beginner trumpet had been damaged, and the cost of fixing it was high enough that it didn’t make sense to repair it, so I needed a new trumpet. That weekend, my parents took me down to a music store in Indio, California—my dad was a National Park Service ranger, and was working at Joshua Tree NP, so we were living in Twentynine Palms—to get a new trumpet for me. The goal was to get me something better than my beginner horn, but also not something too nice (i.e. too expensive.)

I only tried out one horn—-a King Tempo nickel/brass finish—-and that was it for me. Today of course I would have tried out several, and agonized over the choice; but at that age, I was excited about getting a new trumpet, and the Tempo looked great and played so much better than by beginner horn. After over forty years, I still remember what my parents paid for it—three hundred and fifty dollars.

It was really just an intermediate trumpet, but I loved it. I played it throughout high school, and college, in every conceivable setting: marching band, concert band, pep band, brass ensemble, jazz band, pit orchestra, and orchestra. I played it in county honor band, and at gigs where a church wanted a few brass players or a solo trumpet. Once I was in college, I always carried it with me when I flew home for any more than a few days.

After college, I stopped playing for a long time. The demands of graduate school, career, and life in general made it hard to give playing music the attention it deserved. But, when a few years ago I got the itch to play again, out came that old King Tempo. I started to get back in playing shape, and Morgen was playing the King for marching band, so I finally did buy a new trumpet (a Carol Brass.)

One final impact that trumpet had on my life was that I met my wife Janel in my college jazz band —we were the trumpet section that semester. I think it’s safe to say that the $350 my parents spent on the trumpet was the most impactful $350 in my life.

I found it surprisingly emotional when I played the King for the last time before packing it to take to donate. Before I did, I wrote a short note and put it in the case:

For the majority of my life, this was the trumpet I played. Through high school, college, and beyond, I played a lot of gigs on this horn.

I hope it serves you as well as it did me.

Farewell old friend.