(Geoffrey Gallante)
When one considers all his remarkable travels and exploits, it’s as if Geoff has lived in his own little ‘musical Disneyland’ since first picking up a trumpet at the tender age of 4. Where else would a 4-year-old be featured on the front page of The Washington Post? Where else could a 5-yr-old child perform with the likes of the elite U.S. ARMY BLUES JAZZ ENSEMBLE?-- on the steps of the U.S. CAPITOL no less?? Or a 5-yr-old appear as guest soloist with the world-class WASHINGTON SYMPHONIC BRASS? Only in some musical ‘Disneyland’ would jazz trumpet legends like MAYNARD FERGUSON share their stage with 5-yr-old trumpet players in one of the premier jazz supper clubs in the country. Not in the real world does a child as young as six perform for the president at the WHITE HOUSE or with the U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY CONCERT BAND. In Geoff’s Disneyland, 6-yr-olds possess the talent, poise and supreme confidence to perform for a MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL opening day crowd of 49,000 and 7-yr-old musicians get to perform at the KENNEDY CENTER in DC! And only in his own little ‘Disneyland’ are 7-yr-olds endowed with such remarkable musical gifts as to garner guest soloist engagements with distinguished ensembles as DUKE ELLINGTON ORCHESTRA, the LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA and ALLENTOWN (PA) BAND, "America's Oldest Civilian Band"! And it must be 'Disneyland' when, as an 8yr old kid, you get to perform with a New Orleans style jazz band at the WASHINGTON MONUMENT one month and with the UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM (UAB) WIND SYMPHONY at the LINCOLN MEMORIAL the next!