@Bob-Pixley Sad, sad news. His recording of the Hummel is the one I prefer.

That "Russian Sailor's Dance" in the encores section was very fine

Perhaps Danny Davis and The Nashville Brass?

all seems well for me

These are great stories, guys, Thank you for sharing. After my 10th grade year I attended band camp and took lessons from a Chicowicz student. I went on to study w/him in college. I wish I had lessons when I first began. I had a few with the old director, as I said. He once held the trumpet up to catch heat from the blowing heater. "You have to warm-up first," he said My definition of warm-up changed later!

I did. My folks had an old York trumpets around the house. One day while in the 7th grade I became inspired listening to some Bix on old 78s. I picked up the trumpet and started. This was in '61. I could read a little music from earlier piano lessons. There had been a school band in the town years before, but it folded. One of my sisters wrote my out a fingering chart as best as she could remember from playing clarinet. I learned mostly alternate fingerings. For me, Bb was all three valves, D was 1st/3rd in any octaves. One day the other sister heard me trying to play repeated notes. "Why don't you tongue those?" she I asked. I had no idea what she meant...lol. After a while, the former director began coming back to his music store in town on Saturdays. I took some lessons and got a beginner book from him. When I hit 9th grade our school re-started band. I went on to major in music in college, get my BA, MME, Specialist all in music/music ed and taught for 40 years.

I taught for 40 years and preferred to start students on a Bach or Benge 7C, always monitoring their tone and observing how they played. Kept some 5C, etc., around and used them when it seemed the road to go down.

A very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all We'll be visiting sick relatives in hopes of cheering them up with home made spice-cake cupcakes.

@Kehaulani I assumed he meant "Easter".

Use a C trumpet, take it down a step and add 2 flats.