This book began several years ago as a sort of self-assigned therapy. I began to think about some of the positive influences in my life and to write about them rather than dwell on the many negative things going on in the world. This process has been helpful to me and I hope it will be helpful to others as well. The book is composed of character sketches and essays, most of which are based on real persons who have been influential to me as teachers or mentors, and whose contributions to my thinking have been valuable beyond any words I could find. I've written these reflections with respect and love, not only to honor those who have given me so much, but also to point out we all can learn a lot from the people we encounter in the course of our lives. The people we meet and work with can teach us a great deal about making the most of our own talents and abilities. I have written this book not to glorify myself, nor to imply that I always live up to what I've learned - far from it - but to say everything I've done has been done in response to the gifts of others. I've been standing on the shoulders of my teachers for most of my life. This book is my way of expressing my gratitude to them for having been one of their students.
About the Author: Mark Murray is a Professor of Music at Anderson University and holds a doctorate in music literature and performance from Indiana University (1993), where he was a trumpet student of Charles Gorham and Louis Davidson. He was awarded the Indiana University Performer's Certificate in 1979, and was the winner of the 1986 Brass Concerto Competition. While at I.U., he performed in the Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Domenic Spera and as first trumpet in many symphony orchestra and opera performances. He is comfortable in a variety of musical idioms, and has performed with artists such as the Temptations, Lou Rawls, Roger Williams, Ann Jillian, Carol Channing, Peter Nero and the Jan Garber Orchestra. Besides being a freelance musician, he played principal trumpet with the Anderson Symphony Orchestra for over 30 years and is a member of the Monument City Brass Quintet and the chamber music group, "Rinati." For 10 years he was a performer, arranger, and program developer for "Book Readers and Horn Blowers," a not-for-profit organization that presents books and music to children. Dr. Murray has performed as a soloist with the Duke University Symphony Orchestra, the Duke University Wind Symphony, the IU Symphony Orchestra, the Susquehanna Valley Symphony Orchestra, the Anderson Symphony Orchestra, and the Anderson University Wind Ensemble, as well as both the Muncie and Anderson Community Bands. In 1998, he and his wife, Michele, recorded a CD entitled "Slow Waltz for Trumpet and Piano," a collection of lyrical pieces by Albinoni, Bach, Debussy, Faure, Haydn, Rachmaninoff, Peeters, Ravel, and Schubert. He joined the faculty of AU in 1980 after completing his master's degree at I.U. and teaching at Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky. His teaching experience includes Applied Trumpet, Recording Techniques, Orchestration, Musical Acoustics, Jazz History, Jazz Improvisation, Jazz Arranging, Jazz Combo, and Music, the Arts and Culture.