Yamaha Corporation Of America Winter Namm 2012 Press

opportunity to tour with Ray Charles and his orchestra at just 18-years old. After touring briefly
with Ray Charles, Reggie became music director of several off-Broadway plays in the Los
Angeles area.
Since then, Reggie's trombone artistry has taken him around the world to play for dignitaries,
queens and kings, as well as two presidents of the United States. Reggie has been the trombonist
for the legendary group Earth, Wind & Fire for the past 24 years and has also been an orchestra
member of the hit television show, Dancing with the Stars, since its inception in 2005.
Having been born into a military family in Washington, D.C., David Finlayson (Trombone,
New York Philharmonic) spent much of his early life in many different parts of the world. He
began his music career in Germany at the age of six, where he was first introduced to the piano.
However, he found himself more interested in the trombone by the age of 13 and became an avid
player. In 1972, he joined the University of Michigan School of Music, which helped propel him
into his symphonic career at the Flint Symphony and Toledo Symphony Orchestras.
Shortly after he graduated, David was appointed assistant principal trombonist with the National
Symphony Orchestra, where he remained for six seasons before joining the New York
Philharmonic as a featured soloist and recitalist. David has performed on stages worldwide and
has made appearances on National Public Radio, The Today Show and the National Arts Series.
David is also an active teacher of the arts in New York City and holds positions on the trombone
faculties of the Manhattan School of Music, Mannes College of Music and Queens College
Aaron Copland School of Music.
David Ragsdale (Violin, Kansas) received his first violin at the tender age of three and has been
playing ever since. David studied under the tutelage of renowned classical teachers throughout
his life, and in 1980, received a scholarship at the University of Tulsa where he studied with
acclaimed instructor Nell Gotkovsky. There, he also played with the Tulsa Philharmonic and
moonlighted as a string arranger, violinist and guitarist at what is now Universal Music and Post
Studios.
After graduating, David toured with Nashville’s Louise Mandrell for four years, followed by a
seven-year stint with legendary rock group, Kansas. During his tenure with the band, he also
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