 I was a little guy, fourth grade. I guess I was about nine years old. I can remember having a little solo in a concert and thinking that that was pretty cool, that I got to play a solo and that people noticed it, and that I could make an impact by making sounds on this trumpet. I've been playing the trumpet 40 plus years, and I just don't ever get tired. It remains endlessly fascinating to me the phenomenon of musical sound, how beautiful it is, how varied it is, how many different colors that are to the sound. Mr. Dorn is the coordinator of the instrumental department. A wonderful, wonderful man. And his faithfulness, I think, is demonstrated in the character of the School of Music. I was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, actually grew up in Brookfield, which is a suburb of Milwaukee. Went to Indiana University for college, got an undergraduate degree in music education, and got a master's degree in trumpet performance. I was on staff with the navigators in Indiana, came out to Colorado to get a master's degree in counseling at Colorado Christian University. So it really felt like my passion for discipling, for helping people grow spiritually, and this huge love of music that was in me, the love of leading others in music came together at CCU. I get to play the trumpet. I like playing jazz, so I direct the jazz band and the concert band. I like to conduct. I like to develop young conductors. Every year, since the spring of 1995, I've taken a group of 40 to 50 students out on tour. We've covered most of the western two-thirds of the United States in these tours. So the multifaceted experience I get to have at CCU is really a good fit for me. Mark is beloved on campus. He calls his students to a high degree of excellence. He also mentors his students in such an intentional and wonderful way. This gift that he has is that he is able to see potential in the students and see them on their journey. His life and school and music, it's amazing. You wouldn't expect someone to be so good in everything. He practices all the time. When he's not teaching, he's practicing. And so he has this ability not only to perform really at an exceptionally high quality, but also to demonstrate to our students what it takes to do that. I do love the Rocky Mountains, so I've done 15 or 16 or 14 years. My wife and I are ideal date as to sit at a coffee shop and read a book. Better if it's up at Altidge and someplace. Knowing Christ actually really matters. I mean, I have had my own share of doubts, dark times, failures. And it seems just remarkable to me that even at the lowest times where God feels a million miles away, that he is still there. Boy, if students could catch that from being around me, that would be cool.