Hey everybody!

Just wanted to say hello and how glad I am to have found this forum. I’m 56, living in West Georgia, and I'm a writer/author, lyricist, and a graphic artist/T-shirt designer. I was second chair trombone back in junior high school, good times I still think about often.

I actually quit the band before I got to high school. I had a disagreement with the band director; he insisted that if I wanted to stay in the program, I had to be in marching band. I didn’t want to march; I just wanted to focus on stage, jazz, and concert bands, like some students had done both before and after my time. But for whatever reason, he wouldn’t allow it. So, I quit.

A friend of mine who also left the program and I had to hang around the hs band room for a few days of high school due to a scheduling mix-up. And there’s one moment I’ll never forget: I overheard the director talking with a senior student who asked who I was. The director replied, “That was one of the best trombone players we had.”

It made me feel proud for a second, but honestly, the whole situation left me angry for a long time. That moment of recognition couldn’t erase the feeling of being pushed out for not conforming. It drove me away from the horn completely… until recently.

I recently pulled my old King Tempo out of storage and, well… let’s just say the spark might be coming back! (The spirit is strong, but my talent, I fear, has left me) But still looking forward to reconnecting with the world of brass and learning from y’all.

Thanks for the warm welcome in advance!

Moved your post. News and Announcements is intended for the Administration to present news about the Chat, or announcements of new positions within the Trombone world (generally by professionals).

We have a number of New Member Introduction threads, and I'm kinda sorry you didn't post in one, but I'm not going to merge you.