After unsuccessfully trying to play the French horn and percussion, Brian Hecht was assigned the trombone the summer before 6th grade band began. Little did he know that the then foreign instrument he struggled to get out of first position all summer would one day award him an opportunity in the Navy and a passionate musical career.
Brian realized the trombone was more than a high school hobby when he first played with an orchestra at the University of Texas at Austin. “I was smiling so hard, I almost couldn’t play,” says Brian. “Playing with an orchestra reminded me of when I used to go to the symphony growing up and feeling the music move through me almost like magic. No textbook had ever made that happy, so I knew this was my calling.”
When Brian started looking for musical opportunities after graduate school, stories of his grandfather working on destroyers in the Navy inspired him to audition for the United States Navy Band in Washington, D.C. He won the audition and headed to boot camp in October of 2009.
Brian played concerts in Washington, D.C. and toured the country with the Navy Band, but some of his most meaningful memories are during the groups’ ceremonial duties performing at funerals for those who had fallen during service or retirement.
“I helped honor the lives of military heroes who fought in WWII and Vietnam as well as those who were killed in action in recent years. That was a big part of our job – giving back to the nation’s heroes,” recalls Brian. “It was tough to see the grief on family members’ faces and keep composure, but it was rewarding to honor their bodies and their families.”
In September 2014, Brian’s enlistment ended, and he joined Atlanta Symphony as a bass trombonist. This season, Brian became the first holder of The Home Depot’s Veterans Chair, a chair established to honor veterans and help the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Woodruff Arts Centercontinue serving our veterans and military families in The Home Depot’s hometown by enriching their lives with the arts.
“It’s a real honor to represent the veterans of our country in this light, and playing with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra has truly been a dream come true for me,” says Brian.
To see Brian in concert and learn more about the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s commitment to veterans and the community, visit https://www.atlantasymphony.org.
*Photo Courtesy of Shana Catandella
