Eric Schwamberger

August's alumni spotlight goes to Eric Schwamberger, who played trombone in MAYSO during his senior year of high school from 2010 to 2011. Last month's alumni, Dahsol Lee, was the person who recruited Eric, whom he still keeps in touch with. So what influenced his choice to join? He said that the "stuff we did in high school just wasn't challenging." It seems MAYSO fulfilled that lack of challenge, because Eric said that at one point he was given a piece written in a tenor clef (the clef most often used for violas) as opposed to the bass clef most often used for low brass (and other) instruments, and he "had to figure out how to transcribe it." MAYSO also gave him an introduction to different types of music he could play: "it was interesting... getting handed a sheet of music and just looking at it and thinking it was going to be art."

Music is still in Eric's life, today, since he enjoys singing in the car (who doesn't?). He continues to listen to it everyday, and its impact stays with him, having shaped him to pay more attention to detail and having given him a degree of discipline. He also finds that music is a good subject to talk about as its often "something interesting" to bring up in conversation.

Beyond singing in the car, Eric continues to play trombone at his church, Hosanna Lutheran, during Easter and Christmas times. He also used to play in the Mankato Municipal Band, He still practices here and there, and he advises prospective students to do the same, "as cliche as that is, and just don't be afraid to try something new."

Currently, Eric works at Sam's Club and travels, like in the picture above, Eric is shown taking an alumni #IAmMAYSO photo in Seattle, WA while spectating International 6, the biggest tournament for an online battle game called Dota 2. He also travels for other competitive events for a variety of fighting games and a card game called Magic the Gathering. Although music hasn't been the biggest influence on where he travels, he does still try to "make stops at locations that [have] to do with music, like Broadway in New York City and the Experience Music Project Museum in Seattle."

Eric currently does not have definite plans for his future and, as he says, "going with the flow and going where life takes [him]." He plans to continue travelling throughout the U.S. and to continue to work at Sam's Club. One final comment of his is about Dr. Rodgers and of course his humor: "It's the right kind of dry."