Spotlight on Alex Rambo

Senior Alex Rambo is counting down the days until his senior recital Dec. 6 in the Light Recital Hall. Rambo has been playing trombone for 10 years, however he also plays several other instruments. When he was five his parents bought him and his brother some cheap trombones from a garage sale. Ever since then Rambo has been hooked on music. Some days it's frustrating but he has always kept at it. His brother has been his inspiration throughout the years. He has Down's Syndrome and comes to every recital his brother performs in. "Playing and making him happy is what inspires me to play music," Rambo said. "I'm always thinking about him when I play a piece, thinking what he would like about it." In his free time Rambo likes to cook, golf, boat, spend time with his fiancé and play different gigs. He has been very involved in musical performances since he has been in college. Community bands and orchestras are among some of his favorites but he especially enjoys the ones that pay. "My favorite gig was last year," Rambo said. "Me and two other UW-Whitewater music majors played in Indianapolis with the "Blues Brothers" who are based out of Universal Studios in Florida. We were asked to be their horn section for some big convention … it paid well. I hope after college I still have the opportunity to play in different settings." This semester has been full of classes and music for Rambo but graduation won't mean the music has to stop. He has been taking nine classes giving him a full plate of 19 credits in preparation for graduation. He will graduate with a musical education with an instrumental and general certification degree. This means he will be certified to teach band or orchestra as well as be an elementary music teacher. Working on his solo recital has also been taking up much of his free time. A senior recital is the finale of instrument playing for a musical education degree. Rambo practices at least 10 hours per week. It's a bit difficult to rehearse since there are certain songs that have other students performing with him. He will have to perform 25 minutes solo, which is more than a person would do in a typical semester. He will also be incorporating "The West Side Story" for a brass quintet into his recital. "My professor said I was crazy because of how demanding the music would be, but I told him it would be one of the only times it would work," Rambo said. Some advice he has for a newcomer in the music world is to acknowledge you are going to sound really bad at first because it's really important to have the right mind set when learning in order to keep at it. His performance on Dec. 6 will be free to students and the public in the Light Recital Hall.

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