One of the greatest pleasures of being a musician is the inspiration that comes from performing with gifted musicians. I consider myself very fortunate to have had the opportunity to perform with Brian Shaw for concerts in November, including Schutz’ Christmas Story with Rockefeller Chapel Choir at the University of Chicago, and for Messiah Performances with Bella Voce at St. Clements in Chicago and St. Luke’s in Evanston. These concerts were performed by period orchestras, using authentic replica’s of historical instruments. In our case, we played on natural trumpets, and Brian was brought to play the solo parts for both concerts. Brian is the Associate Professor of Trumpet and Jazz Studies at Louisiana State University and is known to be equally accomplished as a classical, jazz, and baroque trumpet soloist. Brian happened to be with me at MIC when Jack Fay was having a lesson, and offered to spend a little time working with him (see below). He is very enthusiastic about what we are doing with natural trumpets, both in ensembles and with the Brass for Beginners™ program, and I am hopeful that he will come back to collaborate with us at MIC in the near future. Brian has recorded a solo CD of Virtuosic Baroque Concertos that I HIGHLY recommend. You can find it here. I sincerely hope you will have the opportunity to hear Brian play – a truly fantastic musician!