Music teacher ready with slide trombone

By CHARLES W. JOHNSON / News Editor for the Southern Standard

Local musician Matthew Driscoll will be presenting a classical music recital at the First Presbyterian Church this afternoon. (Charles W. Johnson photo)

Those who enjoy the mellow tone of slide trombone are in for a treat this afternoon as local music educator and trombonist Matthew Driscoll will be presenting a recital at First Presbyterian Church accompanied on piano by Windell Little.

The performance, which begins at 4 p.m., will feature classical works by Alexandre Guilmant, Johannes Brahms and Ferdinand David.

This year will be Driscoll’s second year in the local school system.

“Last year I taught general music, K-6th, at three schools,” he said, “and then this year I’m going to teach band.

“I’ll be teaching at all the five outer perimeter schools,” he said. “Morrison, Centertown, Dibrell, Irving College and Eastside, and helping out at the high school too.”

Driscoll was an undergrad at Jacksonville State University in northern Alabama, and got his masters in music at East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C.

Driscoll found his job here in McMinnville through modern-day channels.

“On the Internet,” he said. “A site called teachers.com, it was posted on there.”

He has been playing trombone since sixth grade, some 14 years now.

“I actually wanted to play saxophone at first, because my older brother did.” But the local high school band director, who was recruiting future players from the beginning band, steered him in another direction.

“He was a trombone player and he was like, ‘trombones were the coolest instrument,’ so I said ‘I’ll play that.'”