Meet Derek
Derek Ganong, Principal Trumpet
Sponsored by Dave and Sandy Everett
Have you seen Derek Ganong? The man gets around! Surely you have heard him playing a rotary trumpet in the Boise Baroque Orchestra or performing with the Boise Philharmonic. Maybe you have heard him improvise with Boise State’s Faculty Brass Quintet. Perhaps you heard his trumpet as he played with the Opera Idaho Orchestra. Maybe you brushed by him on campus as he rushed by, eager to connect with his students during a Boise State Jazz Orchestra rehearsal. Did you see him in a recording session? He has two albums near the point of release. Did you spot him in a gym? He recently won a cross fit competition! Or maybe he passed you on a cross country ski trail -- once he competed in that sport in the Junior Olympics. This is a man who knows what he likes and pursues his passions.
As a youngster, he listened to his older sister’s chatter about the fun they were having playing in their high school band. He wanted a piece of that fun and found his way into the trumpet section. “That,” in his words, “is the troublemaker’s section.” And it was fun, though he allows that “…when you play a wrong note as a trumpeter, everybody hears it.” By the time he reached high school his interest in music was becoming stronger than his interest in skiing. Wasn’t so for everyone. His twin brother went on to become an Olympic skier. But for young Derek, music called louder than the swish of skis on snow. He attended Interlochen Arts Academy, and then went to the University of California (studying, among other things, ethnomusicology). Then on to New York University for more specialized work as a trumpeter. He concluded his formal education with a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Miami.
Florida also provided ample opportunity to freelance in ensembles, as a soloist, and as an orchestra member. He was able to contribute to film sound scores and even game soundtracks. This was life as a full-fledged, full time musician--and one in demand. But he wanted something more. He wanted to teach college students. Boise State University offered him the opportunity to do so as the Director of Jazz and Assistant Professor of Classical and Jazz Trumpet.