Kelley Meinen
Hometown: Denison, IA
Major: Bachelor of Music in Education (Instrumental)
Hobbies: Spending time with my pet rats (Goose, Pudding, Bean, Penny), playing games from my colossal board game collection, watching too much anime, and making breakfast food
Career Goals: To become a high school or middle school band director
Favorite Trumpet Players: Thomas Gansch, Tom Hooten, Maurice Andre, Mary Elizabeth Bowden
Favorite Trumpet Recordings: Salt Peanuts (Dizzy Gillespie), Arutunian Trumpet Concerto (Sergei Nakariakov), Pakhmutova Trumpet Concerto (Timofei Dokshizer)
Favorite Food: Sushi, but only from Blue Sushi in Omaha
Favorite Book: The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Stephen Chbosky)
Strangest Fact About Me: I was an extra in the movie The Final Season
Coolest/Oddest Musical Experience: I was in a mariachi band in high school. One year, we had a fundraiser in which people could hire us to play for their loved ones on Valentine’s Day. A young Hispanic lady hired us to play for her mom and grandma at their house. They were all in tears within a few seconds of the first song, and they all hugged each other and cried throughout the 15 minute performance. Afterwards, they thanked us repeatedly and told us about the great memories our music reminded them of. It was beautiful to see the effect the music had on them and how much they cared about the music of their culture.
