“And the bigger picture to me is the importance of jazz as an opportunity to learn all these lessons that apply to everyone, even if they don’t go on to become a professional musician, like how to listen and improvise.”

Source: https://crosscut.com/culture/2023/04/why-jazz-essential-seattle-schools-ask-wynton-marsalis

Describing himself as a professional musician, Hunt said FMMC led him to meet more people and begin playing chamber music.

Source: https://www.fcnp.com/2023/09/28/senior-citizens-impacted-by-various-music-programs-and-activities/

He began his formal training with the piano at age 7. His ambitions to become a professional musician happened during his teenage years, after meeting a musical icon.

Source: https://www.philasun.com/local/aaron-diehl-and-the-aaron-diehl-trio-will-perform-mary-lou-williams-zodiac-suitewith-the-philadelphia-orchestra/

When Kissel was a teenager in rural Alberta, having dreams of making it as a professional musician in the big city, he never thought he’d want to move back to Flat Lake, Alta.

Source: https://www.pentictonherald.ca/news/article_0409e3b6-8349-11ee-8654-53d2748524e9.html