National flag of Colombia

She graduated from high school in 1974, in Antioquia, Colombia and now operates a busy housecleaning service out of Lynnwood, Washington.  Her high school class is gathering in Medellin (population ~2.4 million) in late July for their graduation reunion, and the school band wants to play some of the same music which they played back then. One of the pieces they’ll be playing is the “Theme from New York, New York.”

So in April, she hired me for a 13-week crash course in trumpet playing and rented a new Getzen trumpet from Kennelly Keys in Lynnwood—isn’t that a fun thing for her to do and an interesting challenge for a tutor to undertake?! She’s my 16th student and commenced lessons on 5 April. I’m excited to help her quickly sound good again and re-develop her range and stamina. She played first trumpet in high school at Education Feminine Center of Antioquia (CEFA), and no doubt her classmates will be counting on her to lead them again.

She first came to America in 1991, and obtained her USA citizenship in 1998. Last year, her son earned his master’s degree in international commerce law with honors from the University of Edinburgh Law School, Scotland. Her daughter has her Ph.D. in Education from the University of Southern California. I’m getting the picture that this is a proud, hard-working family of high achievers, so I’m betting she will soon “knock-’em dead” in Medellin!