From John's Marine Band bio:

Trumpeter/cornetist Master Gunnery Sergeant John Abbracciamento joined "The President's Own" United States Marine Band in November 1992. Master Gunnery Sgt. Abbracciamento began his musical instruction at age 8. After graduating from Valley Stream South High School in 1978, he attended the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. He completed his bachelor's degree in music at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in 1983 and also earned a master's degree from Mannes College of Music in New York in 1985. He studied trumpet with Armando Ghitalla of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and John Ware and Vincent Penzarella of the New York Philharmonic.

Prior to joining "The President's Own," Master Gunnery Sgt. Abbracciamento was a substitute with the New York Philharmonic and toured Europe with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.

In this fun and lively discussion, we cover:

• John retiring from "The President's Own" United States Marine Band after 27 years
• Be prepared and know that the system is in place to support you
• The importance of realizing that you are joining a section
• The diversity of demands in The Marine Band
• Us math am smart like
• What John will miss most
• Why he decided to retire now
• Change is hard
• Going back to school to becomes a physical therapist
• The impact of standing at attention for long periods of time
• Helping musicians deal with pain
• John's retirement remarks
• Hiram Diaz
• Tom Hooten
• Studying with Armando Ghitalla
• Distinctive players and styles
• What happens at a Marine Band retirement ceremony
• The Italian Store chicken parmesan on a hard roll
• Baseball rule changes
• Freelancing, listening and adapting to a variety of situations
• Learning to blend
• Overcoming doubt
• Rich Kelley Central Park story
• Putting other players at ease within a section
• Trial and error and the importance of experience as a teacher
• Playing the appropriate musical role
• Mallory Thompson
• Andrew and the silk shirt

LINKS:

• John's Marine Band bio page
• Andrew's blog post about John's insights on freelancing

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Expertly produced by Will Houchin with love, care, and enthusiasm.