By K. Richard Douglas
The trumpet took its place in music history in many forms. In the last century, Louis Armstrong brought the art of trumpet-playing to a popular music audience and made it cool. Herb Alpert, along with his band The Tijuana Brass, once again put the spotlight on the trumpet as an instrument that could be the centerpiece of pop music compositions. The variations that could come from three valves, with the right player, were remarkable.
Boyd S. Campbell, CBET, CRES, CHTM, is co-owner of Southeastern Biomedical Associates Inc. in Granite Falls, North Carolina. He is a businessman with an appreciation for the trumpet that dates back to junior high. Playing an instrument wasn’t voluntary at first, since Campbell’s mother insisted that her sons learn to play an instrument.
“My mother was born during the time of the Great Depression, and during that time, there was no extra money for families. She wanted to take music lessons as a little girl but was unable to until later when she was in her 30s. This was a thrill to her since this was something that was one of the first things in her life that was considered ‘extra.’ I knew after taking piano lessons myself that joining the band in junior high was something that my parents would support as an extracurricular activity,” Campbell says.
He says that this was actually the only extracurricular activity that he and his brother were allowed to do because his parents didn’t have the time or funds to do after-school activities, as both parents worked, and then when he and his brother got home, it was time to work in the garden.
“As you can tell, we grew up in a poor family,” Campbell says.
He was introduced to the trumpet by accident.
“On the school bus one afternoon, an older kid was showing off his new trumpet. The look of that shiny instrument, and what I thought would be easy with only three valves, made me choose it. I am still learning today that there is so much more than just those three valves,” Campbell says.
High school band provided Campbell with fond memories.
“We had a band director that made it so much fun to learn. I can still hear him calling out during marching band practice; ‘Campbell, get in step,’ which was usually followed by a kick in the butt. He always pushed us to be better, but also taught us how to love music,” Campbell remembers.
After those early days mastering the trumpet and music theory, Campbell got his first paying gig in 1987, playing in the musical production “Jesus Christ Superstar,” which was presented by a local performing arts group. By that time, he had already graduated from biomed school and left the area where he grew up. He made trips back to the area for rehearsals and performances.
“The other players in the group were people who were doing music for a living and I felt almost unworthy to play with this group, but yet grateful. The one thing about music I have learned; to get better, you play with people who are better than you,” Campbell says.
After “Jesus Christ Superstar,” biomed took priority and Campbell put down the trumpet for 21 years. He also worked on obtaining his CBET and CRES during this time.
In 2009, Campbell was just sitting at home and decided, out of the blue, to get out the old trumpet he had played in college to see if he could still play.
“Needless to say, it wasn’t beautiful music that came out, but I was surprised that I did still remember all the fingerings used. After a month or two, I decided to join the community band and within six months, moved from last chair to second chair and playing lead with a current band director that has helped me along as well. At that time, I was invited to join a swing band, which I found was one of the most-fun activities that I still do today. On occasion, I have also played with a local jazz band as well all while taking private lessons,” Campbell says.
He says that he can still remember the first night he came to rehearsal for the community band.
“I was scared and nervous being around all these people who had played in it for many years. I quickly learned that it wasn’t a competition, but more of a comradery. Everyone is so supportive of each other. When things go well, you hear band members bragging on each other, and when things aren’t quite as well, nobody complains, but when it really goes bad; we laugh as a group,” Campbell says.
He says that being part of an organization that has people ages 18-80, with diverse backgrounds and skill levels, is nice. The fact that they all have a common goal to improve collectively to play a concert that others enjoy is nice also. Campbell says that when playing music; every contribution is important.
Beyond Playing
His own contribution to the community band is only part of Campbell’s music story. He also collects brass instruments and created a music fund he named after his high school band director.
“My collection started by accident. I needed a cornet and didn’t want to spend a lot of money on one so I bought one off eBay made by the Olds company. I paid $100 for it, and when I got it, I was surprised at how well it played. It was a student model and this company had gone out of business many years prior. I found another horn that was the same model, but this one was a trumpet. It also played wonderfully. I started to do some research on this company and learned the history of how they started in Los Angeles, California in the early 1900s,” Campbell says.
These first purchases got Campbell thinking about how these were still good playing trumpets and he could find these student models at a good price.
“I had worked with a local music school going into lower-income areas and doing demonstrations, along with my trumpet teacher, to try and get kids interested in playing. I took these trumpets and let them see if they could make a sound with them, and also played them some myself, to show what all you can do with one,” Campbell says.
That’s when he decided it was time to start buying instruments and giving them out to kids whose parents couldn’t afford to buy one.
“As I looked for trumpets to give away, I started coming across more professional models made by the Olds company, mostly from the 1920s to the 1960s. As I played these different models, I found all had a unique sound, and before I knew it, I was wanting to acquire each model to see just how they were different. That is how the collection came to be,” Campbell adds.
The music fund is called The Miller Music Fund. Campbell chose the name in tribute to his late music teacher, John Miller, who made learning music fun.
“While he taught us different rhythms, styles, composers and techniques, he also taught us to enjoy what we were doing. I remember my freshman year in high school, we played ‘Centerfold’ by the J. Giles Band and ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ by Queen. Those were a far cry from John Philip Sousa, which we also played. What really made me decide on the name though was one afternoon, I was leaving a band concert after playing with a community band, and someone drove up beside me and said, ‘John Miller would have been proud.’ I didn’t know the lady, so I had to ask who she was. It was his widow,” Campbell says.
Campbell purchases and restores brass instruments and turns around and donates them to middle and high school students. This allows the students to own instruments instead of simply renting one. Many of these children cannot afford to purchase an instrument, which are often expensive, so they now have the chance to own one.
Despite his love of music, the trumpet and other brass instruments, Campbell keeps busy running Southeastern Biomedical Associates with co-owner Greg Johnson.
“We are a multifaceted company that we share equally the responsibilities in. The day-to-day business consists of our biomedical repair technicians offering both field service and depot repair of medical equipment, calibration services as an ISO 17025 company, offering both on-site and depot calibration of test equipment, parts sales and exclusive channel partner with Fluke Biomedical in the Southeast U.S.,” Campbell says. The company’s trademarked motto is “Biomeds Helping Biomeds.”
Music in North Carolina has been further enriched through the trumpet-playing and giving by one biomed professional. More young people will know the joys of music and mastering an instrument, while the community will benefit by one entrepreneur’s contributions to the local music scene.
