How a School Bus Seat Took Me on a Lifelong Journey

by Drew Holmes

The school year is winding down and we are firmly in instrument tryout season for students starting in band and orchestra next year. Tryout events are a chance for kids to play a variety of instruments to find the one they would like to learn. I always enjoy assisting with these events and seeing them make a sound on an instrument for the first time but helping them start down a new path that can lead to some very unexpected places is what I like best.

I chose my instrument because of an assigned seat on the school bus. I was a fifth grader at East Bridgewater Middle school and had known for years, without a doubt, that I wanted to play drums. However, my seatmate on the bus, Jack, was a trumpet player.

Each day I saw him carrying his instrument case to and from school and was curious about what was inside. Eventually I asked about it and Jack opened the case and showed me his trumpet, offering to let me press down on the valves. I was startled by how easily they moved and was instantly hooked. Percussion abandoned, I decided in that moment I would become a trumpet player.

In the ensuing years I took lessons, auditioned for festivals, and (more often than not) was successful. I continued to feel the magnetic pull of music in college, declaring it as my major. This led to an internship (and later job) in the Philadelphia Orchestra Library, which in turn led to orchestra library jobs with the Brooklyn Philharmonic and Naples (FL) Philharmonic. As an orchestra librarian, I had the opportunity to work with some of the best musicians in the world in some of the most iconic concert halls in America.

The experience of those positions led to a job offer from Educational Music Service, one of the largest sheet music distributors in the US, where I began to learn the business side of the music industry. I was still working with musicians all over the world, from top level international stars to aspiring amateurs, supporting them in their musical pursuits. When I left that job I knew every operational task, from sales and purchasing to shipping and receiving.

After EMS, I accepted a position at Cornet Music a small family-owned music store in Smithtown, NY. There I learned every aspect of band and orchestra retail while helping all experience levels, from local pros to beginning students reach their musical goals.

When the opportunity arose in 2007 to purchase Boomer Music, I was ready. Because of the wealth of knowledge and experience necessary to successfully operate a music store I knew it was the only job that would use every aspect of what I learned over the years in my professional and musical pursuits. I am proud to put that knowledge and experience to use every day serving our community.

In that moment on the school bus when I was ten-years old, I had no idea where the path of pursuing trumpet playing would lead me. To borrow from Robert Frost, way has led on to way with unexpected and spectacular outcomes. The path has not always been straight (and definitely not obvious) but it has been quite the ride and I am excited to see where it leads next.

As I see the kids at tryout events exploring and imagining playing an instrument, I cannot help but wonder where music may take them. Whether down the street or around the world it will be a memorable journey.