Interview with John Replogle (Trumpet)
The Glens Falls Symphony is thrilled to welcome special guest Screamer Trumpet player John Replogle to the stage at Glens Falls High School on Sunday, October 6, 2024, for opening night; “Sinatra and Beyond” featuring hometown superstar Tony DeSare, and his band.
Mr. Replogle is a freelance musician and educator in New York City. He earned a Bachelor of Music from Berklee College of Music, and a Masters of Music from New England Conservatory. Since moving to New York, John has been playing on Broadway shows including Book of Mormon, Matilda, Pippin, Paramour (Cirque Du Soleil on Broadway), The Prom, and Hello Dolly! (starring Bette Midler, David Hyde Pierce, Donna Murphy, and Bernadette Peters), at Radio City Music Hall (The Christmas Spectacular and The Spring Spectacular), and also with the Big Apple Circus. In addition to his work in New York, John has performed in several venues throughout Boston. Most recently, John played lead trumpet for Hugh Jackman at the Boston TD Garden and for The Who at Fenway Park.
John has toured nationally and internationally. Some notable touring experiences include the National Tour of Monty Python’s Spamalot, The Artie Shaw Orchestra, and The Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus (The Red, Blue, and Gold shows). John is frequently called for various recording opportunities as well. Recently, he was featured on an episode of Z Nation on the SyFy network.
As an educator, John has experience teaching clinics on trumpet pedagogy and section playing, as well as brass instrument instruction. John is a teaching artist with the WeBop program at Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Bronx Arts Ensemble. He is also on the faculty of the Music Conservatory of Westchester. John received the Maynard Ferguson Award and the Ray Kotwica Award in 2007 for Excellence in Performance.
Exclusive Interview with John Replogle, Trumpeter:
GFS: Hello John! Thank you for being with us this coming Sunday, October 6, for the opening night of the 2024-25 season! Please tell us a little bit about how you found the trumpet, or perhaps how the trumpet found you…
JR: Well, I come from a family that loves music. My Mom played piano for fun and my Dad loved collecting records, 8 tracks, reel-to-reels, you name it! I remember all of us kids (3 of us) would go through my Dad's records, 8 tracks, etc., and listen to just about everything he had. Beatles, Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, The Sting soundtrack, Scott Joplin piano rolls, Debussy, E. Power Biggs, Hooked on Classics, and even Switched on Bach! Hahaha. I remember one day I was going through his collection of 45 rpm records and found what looked to be a very light and flimsy-looking record. It said it was "Demo Trail- Time Life Records, Sound of Jazz". It was one of those records you find in magazines and I had never seen one before. Well, I had to know what this sounded like, so I put it on. It opened with Louis Armstrong playing "West End Blues", then with Billie Holiday singing and Roy Eldridge playing "What A Little Moonlight Can Do" and ended with Bix Beiderbecke playing "I'm Coming Virginia". I couldn't believe what beautiful music I was hearing. I must have played it at least 100 times. So soon after that, my Dad would take me to Goodwill and Salvation Army to go record shopping. (It was only 25 to 50 cents for most Large LPs and 78 albums!) I started collecting 78rpm and LPs of any Jazz I could find. Especially Louis Armstrong. I wanted to start playing music besides making makeshift drum sets with pots and pans and playing the piano by ear at home. My older sister was already singing and playing piano, plus French horn. I was extremely short so French horn and Trombone were out of the question. So, trumpet it was. I'm not sure who found who but I am very grateful that it happened.
GFS: Who have been some of your most influential teachers and examples?
JR: Where do I begin? All of my family and friends for certain. They all helped guide me and point me in the direction I needed to go. I was pretty much self-taught otherwise until college. When I left California to go to Boston to study music at Berklee and New England Conservatory, Lin Biviano was a huge influence, and Paul Perfetti as well. Some more musicians who have heavily influenced me by either mentoring me or studying with me are Christine Faweson, Dave Trigg, Tiger Okoshi, Bobby Shew, Roger Ingram, Ben Wright, Chris Labarbera, Jim Manley, and more! The list is very long. I have a passion for learning how to play my instrument as efficiently as I can, and also how to be in-depth and close as possible to the music. Whenever I tour, I try to take a trumpet lesson from someone in each city.
GFS: What has been your favorite repertoire? project, recording, or tour?
JR: That is a very difficult one to answer. I have had a lot of experiences I'm extremely grateful for. I don't think I could pick just one as a favorite.
GFS: Opening Night at the Symphony will feature singer-pianist Tony DeSare and his band as we take on the legend of Ol’ Blue Eyes himself! What has been your experience with the works of Frank Sinatra?
JR: It's always a wonderful privilege to get to play the works of Frank Sinatra. He has influenced so many musicians. My experience goes from record collecting to having the opportunity to play his music with artists. I'm very excited to play Tony DeSare's music. He's a fantastic incredible performer, musician, writer, and arranger. I am very much looking forward to it!
GFS: When it comes to jazz and big band sounds how much does the right mouthpiece play a role for performing in this genre?
JR: Haha! You never want to ask a trumpet player about mouthpieces. That's almost the same as asking a golfer about their golf clubs! I'm only kidding. As far as what equipment (mouthpieces and trumpets) to use per concert, it depends from person to person. I think for most people using the most efficient mouthpiece in their mouthpiece pouch would be a great place to start. I like what the Marcinkiewicz mouthpiece company in Oregon makes as well as Yamaha trumpets.
GFS: What are you looking forward to most about coming to the Adirondacks, and have you ever been up here before?
JR: I've never been! I can't wait to experience it, and I look forward to playing with the Glens Falls Symphony!
GFS: When you are not too busy... educating, recording, or performing what does John enjoy in his free time?
JR: I like to be there for my family and friends. It has always been and always will be, the most important thing to me.
GFS: Some lasting words for our patrons…. What can they look forward to when you perform with the orchestra this Sunday?
JR: All of us trumpets in the back row smiling and having a great time!
-For more information on John, or to see his upcoming performance schedule visit his website:
https://www.johnreplogle.com/contact
-Click here to purchase tickets to this Sunday’s Glens Falls Symphony Concert:
https://ci.ovationtix.com/36232/production/1206456