Score: You are well-known for your incredible upper range capabilities on the trumpet. How does a mouthpiece affect your ability to hit those stratospheric high notes?

MF: The mouthpiece is very personal to a trumpet player. It can be wonderful to one person and useless to another. The mouthpiece is not the answer to high notes. I can play quite high on most mouthpieces, but not always with total command, flexibility and comfort ...

Score: Any excercizes you recommend for developing your embouchure?

MF: When people ask how to develop their embouchure they are generally not referring to low notes. For improving your upper register I recommend lip slurs, lip trills, scales, etc. What I enjoy most is playing romantically. While keeping that romanticism, play that song a third higher and then a fifth higher, but stop the moment you lose the vibrato. When you lose the vibrato you lose the romanticism. In other words, make sure that everything you play in the upper register is musical.

Score: Are there any new players out there that impress you?

MF: The first two trumpet players that come to mind are Carl Fischer and Patrick Hession. They have both been with the band for quite a while and are both great.

Score: What is the highest note you’ve ever played?

MF: The one I’m going to play tomorrow!