Inspired by James Pankow, the trombonist of the group Chicago, I asked my Gardner (MA) band director for a loaner trombone for the summer of my sophomore year. Three years later I was a music major at Ithaca College. Upon graduation, I joined the USAF Band for a couple of years before getting distracted by the Air Force's pilot training program and an ensuing career in the airline industry. However, I maintained a passion for trombone playing with an 18-year run with the Air National Guard Band, a 20-year run with the Merrimack Valley Philharmonic Orchestra, numerous show pit orchestras, big bands, and free-lance gigs with AF of M Local 173.
Recently retired as B-767 International Captain for American Airlines, I play in about eight bands in The Villages, Florida, but I save the summers to reunite with my friends at New Legacy Swing Band!
