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Roland has been a
professional trumpet player since the late1940s. He
has played both here and abroad with wedding bands, salsa
bands, jazz bands, big bands military bands, symphony
orchestras and theater orchestras.
As a former principal
trumpeter at the Oakdale, Storrowton, Bushnell, Goodspeed,
Ivorytown Playouse and Schubert theatres for many years, he
has performed with the biggest musical luminaries of his
generation. The short list includes Judy Garland,
Johnny Mathis, Tony Bennett, Andy Williams, Paul Anka, Don
Cornell, Liberace, Diane Warwick, Tom Jones, Danny Kaye,
Aretha Franklin and Perry Como
He has been a featured
trumpeter at four Presidential Inaugural Balls in
Washington, D.C., with the Symphony Orchestra of New
England, with the professional bands led by Paul
Landerman, Dick Campo, Bobby Kaye, Al Gentile, Pat Dorn,
Andy Nichols.and Ed Cervany among others.
“I’m a
trumpet man,” he says with a twinkle in his eye, and
although he has always been pre-occupied with trumpeting,
Roland’s artistic and scholarly pursuits have left notable
footprints in several other professional areas.
Beyond the parameters of
his music career, Roland Chirico holds a Ph.D. degree, is a
Professor Emeritus, a published writer, former editor, and
national award-winning photographer.
Upon retiring in1992
from the faculty of Manchester Community College, Roland
introduced his lively and entertaining solo Trumpet Man
program. He has entertained hundreds of audiences
since then, and most of them have him back time and again.
Hearing him in person is
so much fun that the audience sometimes overlooks the
technical brilliance of his performance. The mood shifts
from swinging jazz to lyrical ballads, from graceful dance
rhythms to the stunning complexity of classic trumpet solos.
Roland does it all—and he makes it sound easy.
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