Dan Reed

Born and raised in St. Louis, Dan started studying trumpet at age nine. Although he hated practicing, his parents insisted he do so and even had him performing every weekend for company. Dan felt he couldn’t face his relatives if he quit, so he stayed with it & began to love practicing hours & hours daily. instructions During his junior and senior year in high school he taught over 40 students private trumpet lessons. While in high school, Dan played 1 night at Preservation Hall in New Orleans and met Al Hirt there. He fell in love with Traditional jazz and formed a band in St. Louis, playing on the Admiral River Boat and the Trad Jazz Festival by the Arch. The band’s piano player couldn’t play a Festival at the last minute so Dan played piano with his left hand and trumpet with his right hand. He also gathered together some high school band friends that played for restaurants and wedding receptions, called “Dan Reed’s Combo”.

During Dan’s senior year in high school, he held the position of assistant principle trumpet / 2nd trumpet with the St Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra. In st Louis Dan studied with the well known trumpet teacher Bob Ceccarini and prior to that with his Dad’s cousin Ray Holthausen.

Dan graduated from Indiana University with a degree in Music Performance. He studied under the famous Professor William Adam. While at the University, Dan played at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA, and two summers in Colonial Williamsburg where he often played a Herald Trumpet (the long one used in special ceremonies). He also played the William & Mary Shakespearean Festival. He even went on the road traveling through the United States and Canada with an Elvis Impersonator.
Hearing the call of the ocean, Dan played for 2 years with Carnival Cruise Lines and was then asked to join Princes Cruises, where he stayed for 18 years. He served as musical director for Princess Cruise Lines. Dan intended to make St. Louis his home base after coming back to land in 2007. His parents had lived in Arizona years ago, so Dan visited, and many local bands wanted him to join their groups. He moved to Arizona in January 2011 and has been very busy playing as the featured musician in many bands, conducting and coaching bands, and giving private lessons. In August 2012, he was hired to be the band director for a private Christian School in AZ.