Almost two years ago, Dallas Symphony Orchestra principal trumpet, Ryan Anthony, had just completed a guest appearance with his old group, Canadian Brass, and wasn’t feeling well. After the concert, Ryan told his wife, Niki, that he felt like his entire body was “jangling” as he ran off-stage. The Monday after the Canadian Brass concert, Ryan & Niki got the call that no one anticipates or is prepared for – especially with two young children in elementary school – Ryan had been diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a terminal cancer of the bone marrow that most often appears in patients 70 years of age and older.
During his transplant, Ryan was overwhelmed with phone calls from trumpet players all over the world. Everyone asked what they could do to help, and Ryan jokingly started saying “we’ll all play a concert when I am healthy again and we’ll call it ‘Cancer Blows’ “. My wife D’Andra and I Chaired “Cancer Blows” in Dallas on March 4, 2015. The event benefitted the Baylor Sammons Cancer Center and the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. It sold out and was a huge success! Over twenty Principal Trumpets from Symphonies around the country joined Doc Severinsen, Arturo Sandoval and Lee Loughnane. Since my wife D’Andra was doing the heavy lifting as the fundraiser, I wanted to find a way that I could personally give back to Ryan and his cause. I decided this would be a great time to pull out my brand new Profoto B1’s and set up a small studio at the Meyerson Symphony Center to photograph these amazing artists that are giving of their time and talent to such a great cause. The weekend before the event I enlisted my friend David Carpenter to help me build the backdrop wall for the set in my garage. I also had numerous friends help me transport the wall to and from our house to the Meyerson. This was the hardest part! Once we were all ready to shoot, I invited each artist in for a quick photo session after dress rehearsals. I owe a big thanks to my good friend Bennie Davis for talking me off my ledge and grounding me with simplicity in the lighting.
It was such an honor and so much fun to be a part of something impactful that was used to raise awareness and money to further the research for multiple myeloma and to help give Ryan’s family and other families a hope for a future.
2015 Cancer Blows, Wycliffe Gordon, Dallas, Texas.
2015 Cancer Blows, Doc Severinsen, Dallas, Texas.
2015 Cancer Blows, Arturo Sandoval, Dallas, Texas.
2015 Cancer Blows, Lee Loughnane, Dallas, Texas.
2015 Cancer Blows, Marvin Stamm, Dallas, Texas.