September / October 2019 Newsletter
Time Challenge!
Win a $20 Boomer Music Company gift card! Correctly guess how many minutes it will take Chris to assemble this marimba and you will win. Post you guess in the comments (one per person). Ties will go to whomever guessed first. Good luck
Ten and a Half Questions
with Corry Petersen
If you were to make a list of the most prominent brass players in Northern Colorado, it would undoubtedly include trumpeter and educator Corry Petersen. Corry graciously agreed to answer ten questions and ask one back at Drew for this month’s Ten and a Half Questions.Drew Holmes – Tell me your basic information (name, where you grew up (if applicable), school you teach at, how long you’ve been there, groups you play with, etc.)?
Corry Petersen – Corry Petersen. I was born in Storm Lake, IA but grew up in Loveland, CO. I went to Walt Clark JHS (back then), TVHS then did my undergrad in Music Ed and Trumpet Performance at CSU, then a MA in Trumpet at UNC, and finally a MM in Conducting at CSU. I’ve been teaching bands at Poudre High School since 1996. I played for 20 years in the Fort Collins Symphony, and still sub with them, Greeley Phil and Cheyenne Symphonies. I try to play lots of Jazz, so you might catch me at Jay’s, or the Elizabeth Hotel or Ace Gillett’s. I also play in Manabi Salsa Band, and we gig around NoCo quite a bit.
DH – What is your main instrument and why did you pick it?
CP – I play trumpet, although I started on piano. My dad had a bunch of old Louis Armstrong and Al Hirt records that I loved listening to, so trumpet was my first choice.
DH – What is your favorite musical style and group?
CP – I love jazz, and any day my favorite might be someone different, but I always love Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and John Coltrane. I’m a big Wynton Marsalis fan, being a trumpeter. Jeremy Pelt, Kirk Knuffke (grew up here in FoCo!), Ambrose Akinmusire and Roy Hargrove are some of my current trumpet heroes. Brad Mehldau, Joshua Redman, The Bad Plus and Maria Schneider’s orchestra are some of my non-trumpet faves.
DH – If you somehow have time for them, what hobbies do you have? CP – I love snowboarding!! I have a wife and 3 daughters, and we love to hike, snowshoe and get outside as much as possible. I also am a pretty avid reader
DH – What is the piece(s) of musical gear you cannot live without?
CP – I have 6 trumpets, and love them all, but my new Harrelson Summit Bb trumpet is AMAZING!!
DH – What is the best compliment you’ve received?
CP – I had the great opportunity to play with Frank Sinatra Jr. a while back. He traveled with half of his big band, and contracted the rest with local players. So, I sat between the legendary lead player, Walt Johnson (Frank Sr., Harry Connick Jr., etc…) and Tom Porello (Harry James, Stan Kenton) and after playing the muted solo on “Our Love is Here to Stay” Walt said, ‘Wow, great solo man!’… and I think he may have even meant it!
DH – What chance encounter or coincidence has had the greatest impact on your life?
CP – Probably meeting my wife, I was playing Easter at her church and she was singing in the choir. We didn’t start dating until several years later, but it definitely worked out great for me!
DH – What song always puts you in a good mood and why?
CP – Anything by Louis Armstrong
DH – What is your favorite place to travel and why?
CP – I just love to travel in general, but New York and New Orleans are two of my favorites
DH – iPhone or Android and why?
CP – iPhone… no particular reason
DH – Now you can turn the tables on me! Ask me a question!
CP – Who are your 5 favorite trumpeters? DH – Ooh, that’s a good one! First and foremost would have to be Miles Davis. He shaped (and reshaped) jazz as we know it several times and is probably the smartest jazz musician I’ve ever heard. Ron Romm is one of my original trumpet heroes (who doesn’t love the Canadian Brass?) and I had the pleasure of meeting him a couple years ago at the Mendez Instutute at DU, so he’s definitely on the list. I worked (not performed!) with Doc Severinsen when he headlined our December 31, 1999 concert in Naples, FL and I got to see firsthand the discipline it takes to have such an long career and still be such an incredible performer. Chet Baker (the musician, not the person) is someone I admire for his lyrical playing and singing as well as his ability to engage the listener. And finally, Dan Lasdow. He was my first trumpet teacher (and high school band director). Without him I can safely say I would not be where I am today.
Care and Feeding of your Trumpet
Care and Feeding of your… Flute! In this video, Katie shows us the correct (and incorrect) ways to keep your flute safe while in band class. Go to our YouTube channel to see how even a simple mistake can lead to costly repairs.
New Product!
Classic Christmas Carols for Band is a collection of 15 of the most popular and treasured Christmas Carols of all time. Perfect for holiday concerts – this book can be used by the full band, or as solos, duets, trios, quartets, and larger ensemble, in any combination of instruments. Presented in the Kjos Total Option Scoring format each part book contains all 4 choral voice parts written in the playable range of each instrument – allowing for unlimited flexibility!
News & Events
Finé: Know Your Job is Sales
by Drew Holmes
Anyone who has been in my office will tell you (other than how cluttered it is) I have a set of “rules” posted on the wall. These are general ideas and strategies to keep in mind on a daily basis ranging from such things as “Don’t be an idiot” (Rule #1) to “Don’t make your inconvenience someone else’s problem (Rule #8). One rule that is frequently misunderstood but vital for everyone to understand regardless of their chosen profession is Rule #5: Know your job is sales.
Mentioning the word sales typically creates an image of a guy with thinning hair and a bad suit coercing someone into purchasing a lemon of a used car. Guys like that that have given the concept of sales a bad name, since lying and shady deals are not what sales is really about. In reality, sales is the process by which a person with a need (customer) gets the appropriate product or service to meet that need. As the owner of Boomer Music my role in sales is fairly obvious: I help people to get the products and services they need so they can make music. But the concept of sales is much broader than this.
As musicians we are selling the value of what we do to the audience when we perform (especially since we ask them to give us their time, the most valuable resource of all). Music educators have many more “customers” to sell to than just an audience. School administrators are sold on supporting the program, students are sold on the value of participating in making music, and parents are sold on encouraging their kids. Identifying what needs each of those groups are looking to fulfill makes it easy for them to buy in (for example, making music is necessary student enrichment, fun with your friends, or will help your kid get into college, respectively).
So what missing ingredient is preventing the sale? Trust. In each example above (audience, administrator, student, parent) the person needs to trust that the value of participating in or supporting making music is equal or greater than the cost, whether that cost is time or money. The good news is that we know it is! The value of music is so great that not selling this idea would be doing them a grave disservice. Getting buy in from each of these groups requires only that they trust the person selling to them.
At Boomer Music I educate every employee about our philosophy of making sure each customer has their needs properly met. This may involve helping them to discover what that need actually is (a needed repair that was unknowingly affecting their instrument, for example) but in the end our mission first and foremost is to support musicians in whatever way we can. The trust that the musical community places in us has been earned every day since 1976 and we will continue to earn it every day going forward. So I ask, knowing that you are selling one of the greatest products in the world, who have you sold to today?