The Beautiful Fredericksburg Brass Community

This time last year, I had so much respect for the organization, quality, and genuine class that Austin Boyer and Buddy Deshler put into the 2nd annual high-quality, low-cost summer workshop they held - known as the Fredericksburg Brass Institute - that I felt the need to sum it up in its very own blog post. Now that we're on the other side of the 3rd annual FredBrass week, I've seen a year's worth of growth in the activity as well as in its faculty and can attest from a genuine place that these directors really seem to get it; they know what's important in today's music world.

The Alpha Quintet performing for Marty Hackleman at #FredBrass15

Many non-musicians seem to think that it's almost impossible to be successful as a musician for a living. We as musicians - both young and old - seem to think that if we work hard enough at mastering our instrument, we will be successful. I do not believe that either of these statements hold true on their own. In music, there's something more.... Community. Comradery. Fellowship. A genuine desire to help others and want to see others do well. Music brings about a loving, caring, uplifting, and supportive community, and any musician in the 21st century that goes against this community or doesn't become involved with it will have a hard time being successful, no matter how talented or hard-working that musician may be. On the other hand, if you are involved such a community with such genuine desires, you might actually find that not only can you be successful, but it will actually be pretty hard to fail because the music community will be so supportive in your endeavors.

 Why was #FredBrass15 so successful, and why do I see Fredericksburg Brass sticking around for a VERY long time? Simple - Austin and Buddy didn't stop at being hard workers and talented musicians; they immersed themselves in the supportive community and culture that exists in the music world, and within such a community, they were able to find incredible young professionals to join them as resident faculty in the venture AND gain the respect and support highly established professionals in the business to invest their time into the project. Not only this, but they recruit from the same perspective, as if to invite young and developing musicians and human beings on a personal and name-by-name basis to join the community and see what makes music such a great part of our lives today. The friendship and mutual respect in the bond between the faculty members and participants will translate to longevity for FredBrass, and the longer the institute exists, the stronger the chemistry between its members will grow, thus the more successful the institute will be.

The Penn State Graduate Quintet performing for #FredBrass15 participants

Three years in the making, FredBrass has begun to naturally develop its own sub-community that functions on its own as a loving and supportive family. Returning members of the family strengthen the bond with one another every year, and new members are welcomed with open arms into the community. I personally believe this accounts for the quality of the music making that existed at the institute, including with the 2015 Faculty-Student Side-By-Side ensemble, which could have almost been mistaken for a professional brass ensemble with years of experience. These participants have unknowingly become a part of the very type of community that makes incredible musicians like its directors so successful, and whether they choose to pursue music or not, they already have a tremendous head start in their success because of the experiences that they have shared with one another in Fredericksburg.

The existence of the Fredericksburg Brass Institute contributes in epic proportions to my philosophy for quality music education and how it can make the world a better place, and because of this, I will devote my life to supporting the institute and its founders.

Marcus Grant
Teacher, Composer, Trumpeter
http://www.msgrantmusic.org
http://www.facebook.com/msgrantmusic
http://www.twitter.com/msgrantmusic
http://www.soundcloud.com/msgrantmusic

Previous blog post: I've Never Been Savvier!

I've Never Been SAVVIER!!

My experiences at the 2014 Fredericksburg Brass Institute led me to meeting Henry Attaway of The Brass Roots, which eventually led to becoming the official composer/arranger in residence with the group and planning a multitude of incredible events between one another.

One of the events that Henry prompted me to take part in was this year's "Savvy Musician In ACTION" Arts Entrepreneurial Workshop. He prompted me of what I could expect in the best way that he possibly could, but there was no way anyone or anything could have accurately prepared me for the inconceivably enlightening, inspiring, invigorating-yet-exhausting experience I had in front of me headed to the 5-day INTENSIVE workshop that took place June 3rd-7th.

The reality of the world I live in has never looked so bright in my life. I've always had a tendency to be ambitious... to dream big... But it's important to always reflect and be honest with oneself; before attending SAVVY, there had always been a part of me that wondered:

Am I being too ambitious? Are these goals really realistic and achievable?

My fabulous Arts Venture Team, "Janet's Band"

I discovered at the workshop that my life goals are not just achievable; they are extremely doable. In a team with 6 of the most intelligent, hardest working, successful, inspiring, committed, DIVERSE people I have ever met in my life, we were pushed to limits I never knew existed, enlightened to an extent I never envisioned achievable, and accomplished far more than I have ever expected from myself. I've always been taught to be efficient in my pursuit for success... to work smarter, not harder. Well, I've got to tell you: "smarter, not harder" was not good enough to achieve what was expected of us at this workshop; we needed both brawn and brains to succeed, and the result of our hard work brought me excitement to the point of tears in front of a group of 60+ music entrepreneurs on our final day, a cathartic reaction that has not happened to me since I was 6 years old. I am determined to bring that Cloud-Nine feeling back into my life again. Thus, I live with a new motto:

Work smarter AND harder.

Since returning from my trip to SAVVY 2 days ago, I have set up a new mailing list via my website, created an official business-related twitter account, launched my brand-new official business email account, set up a detailed and intricate revised version of my post-grad-school business model,  and launched two new huge long-term projects for my future (you'll hear more about both of them if you head to my website and sign up for my mailing list)! I met over 60 incredible and inspiring arts entrepreneurs ages 20-72, and I am determined to keep in touch with as many of them as I possibly can and involve them all in some way with my future endeavors, as they are ALL talented professionals who have changed my life forever.

My new SAVVY family!

I've never been more exhausted in my life, and I know my 60+ new best friends and business partners are experiencing similar sentiments, but the reality is that my SAVVY experience is just beginning. I look out into a beautiful future that holds more adventures than I ever could've imagined a week ago. Thank you, Savvy Musician In Action, for changing my life.


Marcus Grant
Teacher, Composer, Trumpeter
http://www.msgrantmusic.org
http://www.facebook.com/msgrantmusic
http://www.twitter.com/msgrantmusic
http://www.soundcloud.com/msgrantmusic

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