Bio

My name is Graham Ellis Bentley, and here is a story about me.  In 2014, my family was vacationing near Cape Lookout Lighthouse.  The weather was bad, as it often was, and no ferries would take us to the lighthouse.  We decided to visit some nearby attractions and ended up at Fort Macon, North Carolina, an old Civil War era fort that was open for tourists.  I entered the gift shop of their museum.  On the wall was a gold-colored trumpet.  I was fascinated with it!  Immediately, I wanted my parents to buy it for me.  My parents did not purchase the trumpet for me that day, but they saw the desire and determination I had to play an instrument.

A few weeks passed by, and my parents took me to get fitted for an instrument.  There, I tried out many instruments.  Both the band director and my parents saw that the trumpet was a good fit for me.  So, they decided to buy me my own beginner trumpet for about $150.  I started getting lessons from a trumpet player, who just happened to be the father of a friend of mine at school.

A few months later, after I learned the basics of how to play my instrument, I played at my first performance, which was at a farmers' market.  I played with others that were at my playing level.  I played a couple basic songs such as “Reveille” and “Star Wars" Main Theme.

The songs were played very well.  At the end of the concert, I was even paid money for playing for the first time!  The concert helped me develop a new sense of confidence in myself and a belief that I could build up my playing skills to perform at even larger places.

A year later, in the fifth grade, I joined my school’s band and in a short time, became the first chair trumpet player.  When December of my fifth-grade year came, I joined an organization called the Columbus Saints Drum & Bugle Corps.  Through this organization, I became one of the youngest players at 11 years old, to be in the Drum Corps International activity.  I performed in many highly respected places such as The Old Georgia Dome and Whitewater Stadium in Wisconsin.  These performances helped me to not be nervous in front of large crowds, since I played for thousands of people.

From the seventh grade till now, I have been in many different honor bands.  Some of these are the District 12 Honor Band, that played a symphonic concert for parents, The OSU Middle School Band Academy, where I played compositions chosen by OSU’s Professors, Taps for Veterans, where I played Taps for our soldiers and a charity band called Nationwide Children's Hospital Orchestra which raised money for the children at Nationwide Hospital and the Ronald McDonald House.  I was even recently accepted into the Ohio Music Education Association's All-State Band.  My acceptance into the All-State Band suggests that I am among the best high school trumpet players in the state of Ohio.  All of these bands have made me more social and a better leader, who can encourage and teach others.  They have also made me a better musician, who can play most music just after hearing it a few times.

My musical experiences have inspired me to become a band director after I graduate from Grove City Christian School.  The leadership skills I gained from being in many ensembles, I believe, will give me confidence to be able to teach my future students well.  The musical skills I gained from being in these ensembles will help me to demonstrate music to others.  Finally, I believe the social skills which I have built through conversations with teachers, family and friends, will enable me to communicate effectively with my future students.