My parents were kind enough to send me a clipping from a recent Western Michigan University publication with a photo of Trent Kynaston receiving this year’s Dean’s Teaching Award.
Trent has been the saxophone professor at the WMU School of Music for many, many years. He’s a “rare Bird” in that he’s an expert performer and teacher of both classical and jazz methods. He and his jazz colleagues are responsible for building over the past twenty years one of the strongest college jazz programs in the nation. My pal Eric Koppa is one of Trent’s pupil protégés (see the wedding post below…and yes, there is a bizarre resemblence between Trent and Eric!!).
I never studied with Trent for more than a summer (before I went to college at Michigan), but he helped me turn the corner from studying classical saxophone to learning jazz standards and theory. Long before that, Trent was my state solo and ensemble judge in 8th grade and wrote one of the most flattering comments I ever received: “Best performance all day.” I’ll never forget that…
It’s great to see Professor Kynaston receive this award. He has motivated and inspired so many aspiring musicians of all ages to keep pursuing the saxophone. He has trained countless students, literally generations of saxophonists, to attain the highest levels of performance and musicianship. Congratulations, Trent, and thanks for all your generosity, hard work and dedication to the craft we all love!
