Meet Anthony Hervey | Trumpeter, Composer, and Teacher

We had the good fortune of connecting with Anthony Hervey and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Anthony, is there a quote or affirmation that’s meaningful to you?
I often think of this quote from Viktor E. Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning: “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” Viktor Frankl was a survivor of the holocaust. Despite the horror and hopelessness of that environment, he chose to maintain a spirit of optimism and create something meaningful out of the experience. There is much in life that is beautiful, but there is also so much pain. We are constantly reminded of that fact every day. There is freedom to be found in the courage to endure and persevere despite doubt and uncertainty. One of the reasons I love music so much is that it helps me find a place of calm in the storm, allowing me to appreciate what is beautiful. I’m thankful that God chose to give me a gift that allows me to articulate the complexity of what it means to be human and to be able share that with others in a way that is beautiful.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Like most artists during this time, the pandemic has affected the nature of my work. My days consist of virtual lessons, home recording, performing around NYC, planning for the future, and as the world opens back up a bit more travel. Recently, I had the opportunity to perform for the NY PopsUp arts initiative, a program geared towards accelerating the revival of culture and the arts in NYC. I am very optimistic about the future and sharing music with the world. I’m working on music that I hope to release. I spend a lot of time not only writing music, but also thinking about the message my music will impart to listeners. When I compose, no matter what style, I aim to create things that will leave people walking away uplifted. I want to share a feeling of soul that is sophisticated, has warmth, grit, integrity, vulnerability, sorrow, and humor.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’m not one for tourist attractions. I like to get down to the nitty gritty. If we were in Fort Lauderdale, we’d take a trip to the Swap Shop: lots of characters from all kinds of backgrounds. You never know what you might find or whom you’ll run into. Afterwards, we’d head east towards the beach. I’m not big on swimming so we’d just drive by, roll the windows down and smell the ocean, enjoy the scenic high rises, million dollar houses, and pretty ladies. If my friend was an art lover, we would definitely go to Wynwood Walls. Every single wall in that district is lined with beautiful murals and graffiti. There’s something there for everyone. For music we’d go to the Gold Coast Jazz Society or the WDNA Radio Station. There, we could listen to seasoned veterans as well as up and coming artists play.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to shoutout three teachers who were the pillars of my music education, growing up in South Florida. Anthony Williams was the middle school band director and introduced me to music. When I teach younger students, I try to instill in them the same joy for music Mr. Williams instilled in me. One of the most important things I learned from him was that music and life are not separate. On the first day of class he gave us a homework assignment: to go one day without music. We all tried and of course we failed. Music is in almost everything, from the birds that sing to the music on TV, even in creaking doors and jingling keys. He always spoke of music in terms of life. He would talk about things like an icy cold glass of water after a day spent running outside or a good juicy cheeseburger. Likewise, music is one of those little things that makes everything better. I played in his community group called the Pines Musical Experience Jazz Band for several years. In rehearsals I was always playing more than necessary. As soon as an opportunity arose to solo I’d jump the gun, abandon my part, then embark upon a never-ending journey through choruses of million-note flurries. After one of my solos, Mr. Williams asked me to sing back what I had played. The problem was that I played so many notes I couldn’t remember; if I couldn’t remember what I played in a solo, how could I expect someone else to. This is just one of the many invaluable lessons I learned from Mr. Williams. Mike Shaw was my primary trumpet teacher through middle school and high school. I can still vividly recall the conversation from our first lesson. Mr. Shaw asked me, “What do you want to learn from these lessons?” My response, “I want to be a great trumpet player.” He replied, “If you want to be a great trumpeter, you’ve got to have a solid foundation. Like a house, if you do not have a strong foundation, the house will never stand.” The weeks, months, and years that followed were full of long tones, lip slurs, and etudes from the Arban’s Book (the bible for trumpet). In our lessons he would often play the exercises first and I would listen. His would be executed flawlessly. Then I would mimic his slur at a slower tempo with some cracks here and there. Each lesson I would try to be better than the previous lesson and eventually I was able to get my slurs to sound similar to his. Even now, when I pick up my horn to play the day’s first notes, I try to mimic the way Mike played in our lessons: perfect posture, stoic authority, command of the instrument, and effortless execution of a bright, shimmering sound. Christopher Dorsey was my high school band director. In his classroom there were two rules. Rule number one: Mr. Dorsey is always right. Rule number two: If Mr. Dorsey is ever wrong, refer to number one. When Mr. Dorsey sat down at the podium, all the messing around stopped. It was time for business. We played the music of Count Basie and Duke Ellington. The repertoire was very challenging, especially for our getting into the nuance and not sounding like kids. He was able to take students at whatever level they were, and make them sound like a pro band. He would often say, “There’s a method to the madness.” I don’t know exactly how it worked but, indeed, there was a method to the madness! He always had us strive to play with the feeling of the blues and in a way that grooved. “Jazz is dance music,” he’d say. Mr. Dorsey would have the rhythm section play time over the form of the blues, and we’d pat our feet to the music but never the front of the feet. “You have to pat the back of the heel because that makes everything else move.” “That’s where the dance comes from.” Then we’d outline the triplets singing, “do-do-la-do-do-la-do-do-la…”, gradually leaving out different parts of the triplets and trying to internalize the feel of the rhythm. No matter where students were in their development, Mr. Dorsey could take them to a higher level if they were willing to apply themselves and work hard.

Website: anthonyherveymusic.com

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Image Credits
Viola Chan