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Keith Fiala
A Forever Student of Trumpet!
About Me
I am fortunate that my love for music and playing trumpet has guided me throughout my life. At an early age I was playing
and had a passion for it. As I got into my teens and my early 20's though, I still had passion but no support behind me which
caused me to quit playing for 3 years... the most miserable 3 years of my life.
Once I returned to the horn, I had to learn to balance the daily life of having a “real” job and get back into the practice room. It
was difficult and not without its bumps and bruises. Eventually, I quit working outside of music and started teaching private
lessons and playing in cover bands to earn my money... this allowed me to make connections and helped me achieve a dream
of earning a spot on Maynard Ferguson's band in 2004. I stayed for the year and learned a ton... but still had a ton to learn!
While touring with Maynard, I was fortunate enough to meet Arturo Sandoval. I mustered up the courage to ask for lessons
from him and through his guidance and mentorship, I improved more. In early 2017, Arturo asked me to join him as his tour
manager... this gave me the opportunity to leave Austin, TX and move to California - something I had been trying to figure out
for a few years. In accepting his offer, it also allowed me to become his practice partner... I stopped playing out for the most
part and just stayed in the practice room and did my duties as road manager.
As I learned and grew from my experience with Arturo I was encouraged to start establishing myself as a musician and
continue to perform, write and create music... there's much more on the horizon! Stay tuned...
