As I write this, two of my colleagues and I are driving from the Atlanta International Airport to Columbus, Georgia for the 2012 International Trumpet Guild Conference.

Money for these kinds of events is scarce these days. While funding was bountiful, they might have been considered a worthwhile expense; “professional development” or whatever. Now they’re treated as a frivolity, at least by the people shelling out the money. The Army Field Band trumpet section managed to get five of us to the ITG Conference because we have a trumpet vacancy. With all the solo competitions, mock auditions, recitals and college trumpet ensembles happening at this thing, there will be hundreds of great trumpet players here.

I attended a few ITG Conferences when I was in college. They’re always a pretty big affair, and for a kid from nowhere who had everything to learn, the first one was life-changing. Every man, woman and child had at least one trumpet with them, and they all seemed miles ahead of me. I carried a notebook to every masterclass, clinic and recital I had time for, and badgered every quasi-famous trumpeter I saw for a lesson. Almost every one of them obliged, and none of them accepted any money.

For me, that memory represents the best of organizations like ITG. Students, amateurs, pros and legends come together, eat together, play together, perform together, and teach each other what they know. I’ll never forget the free lessons I got from Marvin Stamm, Jon Faddis, Vince DiMartino, Fred Mills, Keith Johnson, or any of the others. I’m sure half of them don’t even remember, but because of their generosity, I give out free lessons like candy at these things. I want students to get the same feeling I got from these conferences: A feeling that it’s not about marketing, or networking, or exposure, or competitions or awards. It’s about the love of the game.

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