Inductee Selected for Academic Hall of Fame

    Mr. Winston Byrd, a 1991 graduate of Gateway Regional, has been inducted into the Gateway Hall of Fame.  He was recently honored at the Academic Awards dinner for his outstanding achievement in the professional world as an accomplished jazz musician and a music teacher.  Attending the award ceremony with Mr. Byrd was his girlfriend, Elisabeth Daniels.  Former teachers, David Sellen, Ethel Jean Deal, Kipp Matalucci, John Howard and Penny Cipolone also attended.

    Mr. Byrd was initially bitten by the ‘jazz bug’ as a seventh grade student when his band director, David Sellen, played Maynard Ferguson’s ‘Give It One.' It wasn’t long after that he witnessed legendary trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie and Jon Faddis in a Grammy Awards telecast.  Mr. Byrd took a detour from his original plans to attend New York University to study Clinical Psychology and chose to go on the road with the Stylistics to pursue his dream.  Mr. Byrd has performed as a lead trumpeter in big bands with Lionel Hampton, the Count Basie Orchestra, The Duke Ellington Orchestra, and Blood, Sweat and Tears, just to name a few.  After diligently practicing until he could play easily, Byrd evolved into a multi-talented and well-rounded trumpeter.  His ability to skillfully read and play in all musical styles has earned him the respect and admiration of his peers.  Trumpeter Jon Faddis became an early role model and mentor, and Mr. Byrd has had the privilege of playing in the trumpet section of the Faddis-led and world famous ‘Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band’.

     Mr. Byrd was a recommended clinician with Yamaha for 10 years and has been with Cannonball Musical Instruments for the last four.  He has served as Professor of Jazz Trumpet at Ohio State University from 2001-2003 and as an adjunct at UCLA.  When he moved to Los Angeles, he taught at Fairfax High School in the Buddy Collette’s Jazz America program, teaching a broad base and history of jazz to middle and high school students.  From 2000-2005, Mr. Byrd led the USSBA Honors Jazz Ensemble, which chooses the best jazz students from New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Massachusetts and Connecticut.

     For the past five years, Mr. Byrd, has been leading his own bands (one in New York, one in Los Angeles) as well as an 18-piece jazz orchestra that demonstrates the return of big band excellence and its renewed popularity.   He resides full-time in Los Angeles and recorded his first CD, ‘Soul Searching’, in 2004.  Mr. Byrd is currently contracted with Alliance Records and recently released his second CD, “The Tao of Pooh”.

     In June, Winston Byrd honored his alma mater when he returned as a guest soloist to play with the Bonsal Blues dance band at Gateway’s 64th annual music concert.  He performed two dance band numbers;  Woody Herman’s “Woodchopper’s Ball” and Sy Oliver’s “T’Aint What Ya Do.”  Anyone who had a chance to experience his performance is aware of the amazing extent of his musical prowess.
    To learn more about this talented man, log on to his website at www.winstonbyrdmusic.com. 

The Gateway community congratulates Mr. Byrd on this honor and applauds his achievement.

Top 10% of Senior Class
Breanna  Carey, Jamie Connelly, Melissa Craig, Courtney Croft, Katelyn Guilfoy, Brittany Hudson, Alex Judson, Julie Kowalski, Nicholas Lamb, Rachel Mezis, Kristina Perdicaro, and Kenneth Wenner.