Today we’d like to introduce you to Roman Gonzales.
Hi Roman, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Hi! My Name is Roman G. I am a trumpeter, composer, bandleader, and educator originally from New Mexico. I began playing trumpet when I was 11, mostly because our 6th-grade band needed trumpet players and we just happened to have two lying around. Not exactly fate or maybe it was— but something clicked. By 7th grade, I was diving headfirst into district honor band auditions, and by the end of my freshman year, I knew I wanted to play professionally.
Throughout high school, I poured everything into music. I earned top chairs in the New Mexico district, regional, and all-state bands, finishing with over 70 awards, and eventually landing 4th chair in the National Honor Band of America.
After a brief stay at New Mexico State, and a chance experience at the 2016 international Trumpet Guild conference (ITG) in 2016, I auditioned for Berklee College of Music and was accepted in the spring of 2017. At Berklee, I had the incredible privilege of studying with artists like Marshall Gilkes, Tanya Darby, Phil Grenadier, Marcus Rojas, and many more. I also launched my band, Roman G & The Odyssey, and started releasing original music during my second week of school. I graduated with a degree in Professional Music — Berklee’s create-your-own-path program — after six years of growth, gigs, and nonstop learning.
I stayed in Boston for a year after graduating, gigging and growing, before deciding it was time for a change. What was supposed to be a quick stop in Kansas City turned into a three-year stretch full of musical opportunities I never expected — and a chance to reconnect with genres I hadn’t touched since I was younger.
After a short creative pause, I’m back in the studio, writing and recording new music, and slowly rebuilding The Odyssey. I’m excited for what’s next — and grateful for the long, winding road that’s brought me here.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road has not been smooth, but it has been interesting. I have had many ups and downs and made many sacrifices along my journey in pursuit of this music. Much of high school and at least the first bit of college before berklee was an uphill battle between my peers and my teachers in a variety of ways. I don’t take these experiences as a loss however. Constant bullying and gatekeeping notably freshman and sophmore year of high school, and my fist year of college, taught me much. Mostly what not to do when cultivating young talent. I was forced to find my own creative ways through my pursuit of musical excellence. Financial struggles have always been a constant hinderance but have not stopped my journey or my belief in the importance and continuation of this music that we as “Jazz” Musicians Play.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am fortunate enough to basically work in music through and through and I am able to explore my profession is a variety of different ways. I have been grateful and fortunate enough to hone my craft into a world class trumpeter. As a bandleader and composer I am able to work on pioneering a style of music which I call 3rd degree. In its simplest terms. My music takes from the ideas of Gunther Schuller’s 3rd stream music, Miles Davis ideas on fusion, and the progression of modern ideas, concepts, and sensibilities to create something familiar yet entirely distinct. Through this, I have had to learn a lot and in turn this has helped me become very knowledgable in a variety of disciplines. This has been indispensable as an educator and has made assisting others in their musical journeys that much more fulfilling. I also work at Austin Custom Brass one of the worlds premier boutique brass instrument shops. My role here has allowed for further expansion of my abilities and been another fulfilling aspect to my journey
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I was always a very interested kid growing up. Music was always an integral part of my childhood, however it was not necessarily on the horizon as a career goal at the time. I had many interests including; legos, drawing, chemistry, genetics, reading, writing short stories/poetry, etc… however, my first real love was comic books. Before any of this music stuff really kicked into full gear, I wanted to be a professional comic book artist. To this day much of this has stuck with me and if anything i’ve only gotten more curious
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.roman-g.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rgtrumpet?igsh=eWxwcHR2MHo4ZHA0&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/roman.gonzales.982
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roman-gonzales-trumpet/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Romangandtheodyssey
