Meet the Musicians

Name: Jon Hartman
Hometown: Kendallville, Indiana
Instrument: Trombone

What was the first instrument you learned to play?
The instrument on which I had my first formal training was trombone, which I began learning in sixth grade. However, I was self-taught on piano a few years before that by using a John Thompson method book I was given by my grandmother. I had my first official piano lessons beginning in seventh grade, and have continued playing both instruments regularly to this day.

If we were going to look in your CD player right now, what CD would more than likely be in there?
My CD player is actually usually empty.  (If I'm listing to anything, It's usually NPR while I'm in my car.) However, CDs that have been in there recently have varied between Styx, Stryper, Amy Grant, Huey Lewis and the News, Respighi, Vince DiCola, Creed, Enya, Journey, Demi Lovato, Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians, and the current Christmas or Easter cantata for church. I dare you to try to pin me down on any one artist or genre!

If you had the ability to go back in time and meet any composer, who would it be and what would you ask them?
The one composer I would most want to meet is Beethoven. One question I would ask him is if he was worried about making mistakes in composing his later pieces because he wouldn't have been able to hear them performed.

What advice would you give a beginning player of your instrument?
Keep at it and don't let yourself get frustrated. The trombone is a tricky wind instrument to learn because it doesn't have distinct valves or key holes. It takes lots of practice and a good ear to make sure you're playing the right notes.

(Featured in the October 30, 2011, program.)