Glenn’s Trumpet Notes

Carl Sandburg Elementary School, Kirkland

I don’t have a studio in my home where private trumpet students can come for lessons. I’m not affiliated with a music store or company that has practice studios, although I do occasionally use the rooms at Ted Brown Music in the University District, which rents studios. If I had my own or a company studio, I think I’d have reached this milestone–50 trumpet students–much earlier. So, since I started in 2009, I’ve been driving to people’s homes and teaching my students in their living rooms or basements or wherever.

My 50th student is a quiet, cute, petite girl with a charming smile who attends 4th grade at the Carl Sandburg Elementary School (CSES) in Kirkland. The Music Teacher there is Mr. Bryan Melerski. He conducted a recital at the school on 17 December at which my student’s ensemble played three pieces. Her group consists of trumpet, trombone, baritone, flute and clarinet players.

Our first lesson was on 19 November. She recalled how she chose trumpet. The trombone and baritone were too big for her to carry home. So she tried playing the trumpet first, then the flute and clarinet, and finally, the trumpet again. She made a good sound that she liked. Also, the trumpet had only three valves, and she liked pushing down the buttons. That was it—the choice was easy. She’s smart, earnest, and pleasant. She’s had piano lessons in the past, and her music knowledge is far better than other 4th grade students I’ve taught. Some techniques and skills just seem to come naturally to her. She shows good promise.

According to the CSES’s website, enrollment was 459 in October 2017, and there were 27 teachers, 70% of whom had at least a Master’s Degree.  The unexcused absence rate was 0.3%. Carl Sandburg (1878-1967) was a famous, popular American poet, journalist, biographer, and editor. He won three Pulitzer Prizes (1919, 1940, and 1951). Born in Illinois, he lived and worked in Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, Puerto Rico, Wisconsin, Michigan, and North Carolina, where he died at age 89. Numerous schools are named after him throughout America.