All eyes on Gregory Jones
Michelle Martin
Issue date: 8/17/08 Section: TruLife
Professor of Music Gregory Jones said he rarely spends an entire year within the US borders.
Jones said he takes about two international trips a year for his musical pursuits and is living his dream.
"When I was [young], if someone had told me what kind of life I'd be living now I'd have said, 'Yeah right, I'd love to have that,'" Jones said.
Jones said he assumed he would start working after graduation like the rest of his family and that his attending college to study the trumpet was somewhat accidental.
"Lo and behold, one of my band directors got me hooked up with Florida State and the idea of going to college, which was actually very foreign to me," he said.
Jones said he graduated from Florida State University and obtained his master's from the University of North Texas and his doctorate from Eastman School of Music (N.Y.). He was hired at Truman in 1987.
In 1995, Jones received a six-month Fulbright Artist in Residence Award to teach and play the trumpet in Greece, he said. He said the experience of living in a foreign country was both wonderful and challenging.
"The things they do, the way they eat food [and] the way they live their lives are very different," he said. "For example, in Greece it was still a custom that you would sleep from two until five o'clock to take a nap."
Jones said he has been to Greece about 20 times and has played in England, Sweden, France, Albania, Bulgaria, Russia, Japan, China, Thailand, Australia and Canada.
"I go to other countries, I work with their trumpet players, their brass players," he said. "I hang out with their professors, and we exchange ideas about music and we also exchange a lot of ideas about how we live."
Jones said his exposure to the unique cultures of the world has made him appreciate American life.
"I gained a bunch of understanding for what it means to be an American because you understand how America is the same and different from other places," he said. "The more you go out the more you realize that Americans have a really easy, luxurious life."
Jones said he takes about two international trips a year for his musical pursuits and is living his dream.
"When I was [young], if someone had told me what kind of life I'd be living now I'd have said, 'Yeah right, I'd love to have that,'" Jones said.
Jones said he assumed he would start working after graduation like the rest of his family and that his attending college to study the trumpet was somewhat accidental.
"Lo and behold, one of my band directors got me hooked up with Florida State and the idea of going to college, which was actually very foreign to me," he said.
Jones said he graduated from Florida State University and obtained his master's from the University of North Texas and his doctorate from Eastman School of Music (N.Y.). He was hired at Truman in 1987.
In 1995, Jones received a six-month Fulbright Artist in Residence Award to teach and play the trumpet in Greece, he said. He said the experience of living in a foreign country was both wonderful and challenging.
"The things they do, the way they eat food [and] the way they live their lives are very different," he said. "For example, in Greece it was still a custom that you would sleep from two until five o'clock to take a nap."
Jones said he has been to Greece about 20 times and has played in England, Sweden, France, Albania, Bulgaria, Russia, Japan, China, Thailand, Australia and Canada.
"I go to other countries, I work with their trumpet players, their brass players," he said. "I hang out with their professors, and we exchange ideas about music and we also exchange a lot of ideas about how we live."
Jones said his exposure to the unique cultures of the world has made him appreciate American life.
"I gained a bunch of understanding for what it means to be an American because you understand how America is the same and different from other places," he said. "The more you go out the more you realize that Americans have a really easy, luxurious life."
Be the first to comment on this story