A Couple of Tech Geeks Talk Trumpet, Alt Careers, Pandemic Survival, and Embracing That Which Was Once Feared Most…The John Hackett Podcast.

If you're listening to this podcast on Apple or Spotify, you're seriously missing out. The Trumpet Dynamics mobile app has content and exclusive bonuses you won't find on a third-party application. To access the mobile app, visit trumpetdynamics.com. _______ John Hackett was born in Raynes Park – a leafy suburb of London, UK – in 1955. He started taking trumpet lessons when he was seven years old and set out on the path to becoming a professional trumpeter. While at the local high school (which is now a block of luxury apartments), he continued taking Trumpet lessons with the local peripatetic teacher - the young, up-and-coming Michael Laird. An eccentric, strict, but well-loved music teacher encouraged John to audition for a Junior Exhibition at the Royal College of Music. He was accepted, and so for the next six years, Saturday mornings were taken up with music lessons at the RCM. After taking A-levels, he went on to study Trumpet at the Royal Academy of Music with Sidney Ellison. The other love of his life was (and still is!) Mathematics and Science. While studying Trumpet a the RAM, he also began a Degree in Mathematics and Physics with the Open University, graduating with a First Class Honours degree and the DeBroigle Quantum Mechanics prize. He was a freelance musician and teacher for some years, including a private school in South London. While still teaching Brass there, he also started looking after the school’s computers. When he began managing their systems, there were two old networks of RM Nimbus 186’s, one of which was located in what used to be a changing room for the gymnasium! This was in the very early days of computing in schools. A year later, he was appointed Head of IT and Network Manager, and trumpet playing took a back seat. But it never stopped! While teaching IT, he also went back to his studies with the Open University – this time a Masters Degree in Computing. After almost ten year’s teaching, John Hackett decided to go it alone and take up opportunities to work as