Conversations with Ryan Buchanan

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Buchanan.

Hi Ryan, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I began playing the trumpet at the age of nine years old. I was a very quick learner and developed remarkable skills at a very young age. I credit my junior high and high school teachers, Scott and Roxanne Jeppesen, Jeffrey Stephan, and Stephen Hufford for crafting me into the musician I am today. Once I was in high school, I began studying trumpet privately under Dontae Winslow. For those of you that don’t know, Dontae is an incredible musician and human being. He has performed and worked with Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Kamasi Washington, Snoopdog, Roddy Ricch, and countless other world-class musicians. He taught me so much at a young age. He molded my musicality and fundamentals on the horn. I was so lucky to have his guidance in the midst of my developmental stage. Throughout my years as a student in junior high and high school, I accumulated a number of prestigious awards and musical achievements. In junior high school, I was awarded the John Philip Sousa Award and placed first chair in the William S. Hart District Honor Band two years in a row. In high school, I was selected for numerous honor bands and ensembles such as CBDA’s All-State Symphonic Band, SCSBOA’s All-Southern Wind Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s Honor Band, Cal State LA’s Honor Band, and the Hart District Honor Band. My high school career finished with me receiving two more John Philip Sousa awards and my acceptance into the jazz department at California State University, Northridge.

Following high school, I auditioned into CSUN’s prestigious Jazz A Band as the lead trumpet player. I also began studying under my trumpet hero, Wayne Bergeron, as his only student. My freshman year also consisted of me auditioning into CSUN’s Wind Ensemble, Latin Band, and Jazz Combos. I toured with the A Band at the Monterey Jazz Festival and at the inaugural Jack Rudin Jazz Championship, hosted by Wynton Marsalis at Lincoln Center in New York City. My studio work can be heard on Cole Supple’s Red Room, Red Room (Austin Atlas Remix); Dontae Winslow’s Trumpet & a Mic; The Licata Brothers It’s Time, Guiding Light, No Me Toques, and Put Your Weight On It; and Dave Cavalier’s Bad Blood, and The Hold. As a sideman, I have had the opportunity to play with Bobby Shew, Dontae Winslow, Wayne Bergeron, Gary Pratt, Luis Conte, Brian Scanlon, Eric Marienthal, Gordon Goodwin, Scott Whitfield, Matt Harris, Michael Mull, Danny Janklow, Willie Murillo, Scott Jeppesen, and Mitch Foreman. I aspire to have a future that shadows my mentors after I graduate next year from CSUN. I plan to attend grad school at USC, continue my studio work, and perform all over the world in the near future. I hope that I will be the next trumpeter to pave my pathway into the Los Angeles scene.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I feel that my pathway to where I am today has consisted of lots of success, but that doesn’t mean that I have never had to face obstacles and hardships along the way. One obstacle that comes to mind in particular was when I applied to the jazz department at CSUN. I originally was not accepted into the program. I was notified via email that I was the first person on the waiting list to get into the program as a trumpet player. This meant that I was neither in or out of the program. I did however, audition both for the classical and jazz departments. The classical department told me that I was in right away in the audition room, but I was intending to go to CSUN as a jazz major. After receiving that email, I didn’t know what else to do besides wait. Then it hit me. My high school was having a jazz festival in late April right before the school acceptance letters would be finalized. Matt Harris, who was the head of the CSUN jazz department at the time) was going to be one of the judges at our festival. This meant that I had an opportunity to talk to him face to face. Since we were the school hosting the festival, we performed at the judges lunch breaks. I asked Matt Harris if he would stay and watch me perform with my school so that he could hear me play again. He actually stayed and afterwards notified me that my performance landed me a spot in the CSUN jazz department. I was ecstatic and so relieved. This is just one story that comes to mind, but I found it as a very important moment that got me to where I am today.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I think what sets me apart from others the most is that I like to think of myself as a swiss army knife kind of a musician. Meaning I don’t like to put all of my eggs into just one basket. I try to stay as versatile and as diverse as possible in my playing so that I can associate myself with more musicians and more working opportunities. I have had years of experience in all sorts of playing fields. I am a lead trumpet player at heart, but I love performing jazz, pop music, classical music, hip hop music, or anything that requires a trumpet on it. I am open for all playing opportunities at all times. My studio work can be heard on Cole Supple’s Red Room, Red Room (Austin Atlas Remix); Dontae Winslow’s Trumpet & a Mic; The Licata Brothers It’s Time, Guiding Light, No Me Toques, and Put Your Weight On It; and Dave Cavalier’s Bad Blood, and The Hold.

If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I have a lot of confidence in my playing and in my ways to connect with others on a musical and social level. I feel that it is so important to not only have a skillset as a musician but also as a networker. You have to also maintain the mentality of never giving up, no matter who or what tries to put your mind in the wrong place. I feel that I have always told myself that I can accomplish anything and everything that I set my mind to. You have to love and accept yourself for who you are before others can do the same to you.

Pricing:

• Private Lessons – $40/hour

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @hornsnhalos11
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100005693266316
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU1dIbedfP4Pejy9sLWK9pg

Image Credits
Individual Picture Image Credits – Jennifer Buchanan Big Band Image Credits