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John P · 07-24-2006, 07:59 PM

Hi everyone,

I've been posting here and there for a little over a month and figured I should formally introduce myself. My name is John Powlison, and I live in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. I'm seventeen now and I'll be turning 18 in August as I start my freshman year at Messiah College. I've been playing trumpet since fifth grade which makes, umm...8 years now. I never really liked the instrument that much until I started studying privately in seventh grade. That really opened my eyes to how much fun it could be! From then on it's been my goal to be a music major. And here I am. I was never a very good player until the beginning of my senior year of high school. I had some terrible physical problems (embouchure, pinching, tension, airflow...you name it) that prevented me from not only ascending into the upper register, but also from playing comfortably in any range. I went through a couple of teachers, but neither of them could really help me to play the way I wanted to. It was in my senior year that the magic started to happen. After spending the summer of 2005 marching with the Crossmen Drum and Bugle Corps, I started taking lessons in the fall with Dr. William Stowman from Messiah College. He helped me get past the technical parts of playing by simply focusing on making music. He improved my playing more in that year than I could have ever hoped for. That year, I went from having never made district band to taking third chair in the all-state wind ensemble. He also helped me extend my range and I've taken quite a liking to lead playing. But don't confuse "liking" with "actually being good at it"...I've got a long way to go in that department

As far as equipment goes, I don't have a whole lot. I play on a King Legend Bb with a Bach 1C for classical and a Schilke 14a4a for lead. I also own an Olds Special with a pretty neat two-tone bell. I'm in the market for a C trumpet and should be getting that within the next couple weeks. I'm looking for something in the $1000-$1500 range, so feel free to let me know if you've got any suggestions!

Thanks for reading.

-John

07-24-2006, 07:59 PM	#1 (permalink)
John P Piano User Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Camp Hill, PA Posts: 313	Hello from Pennsylvania Hi everyone, I've been posting here and there for a little over a month and figured I should formally introduce myself. My name is John Powlison, and I live in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. I'm seventeen now and I'll be turning 18 in August as I start my freshman year at Messiah College. I've been playing trumpet since fifth grade which makes, umm...8 years now. I never really liked the instrument that much until I started studying privately in seventh grade. That really opened my eyes to how much fun it could be! From then on it's been my goal to be a music major. And here I am. I was never a very good player until the beginning of my senior year of high school. I had some terrible physical problems (embouchure, pinching, tension, airflow...you name it) that prevented me from not only ascending into the upper register, but also from playing comfortably in any range. I went through a couple of teachers, but neither of them could really help me to play the way I wanted to. It was in my senior year that the magic started to happen. After spending the summer of 2005 marching with the Crossmen Drum and Bugle Corps, I started taking lessons in the fall with Dr. William Stowman from Messiah College. He helped me get past the technical parts of playing by simply focusing on making music. He improved my playing more in that year than I could have ever hoped for. That year, I went from having never made district band to taking third chair in the all-state wind ensemble. He also helped me extend my range and I've taken quite a liking to lead playing. But don't confuse "liking" with "actually being good at it"...I've got a long way to go in that department As far as equipment goes, I don't have a whole lot. I play on a King Legend Bb with a Bach 1C for classical and a Schilke 14a4a for lead. I also own an Olds Special with a pretty neat two-tone bell. I'm in the market for a C trumpet and should be getting that within the next couple weeks. I'm looking for something in the $1000-$1500 range, so feel free to let me know if you've got any suggestions! Thanks for reading. -John
	__________________ JP