Downey High trumpet player chosen for Grammy camp

DOWNEY –  Downey High School trumpet player Carlos Ramos has taken a big step to begin shaping his desired career of becoming a musician. 

In late October, Carlos submitted a recording to the Grammy Foundation to audition for a spot in the 2016 Grammy Camp - Jazz Session. In late November, Carlos was accepted to be a member of the big band at this camp in February. 

Carlos, along with 31 other talented high school students from across the United States, will travel to Los Angeles and spend a week performing at many venues, including Spaghettini & the Dave Koz Lounge and Club Nokia. 

This band will also be attending the 58th annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 15 as guests of the Recording Academy, and will be performing for the stars at the Grammy Celebration after-party. 

The selected students will also record an album at the legendary Capitol Recording Studio in Hollywood. 

Quoted from the press release: “GRAMMY Camp – Jazz Session selectees are eligible for more than $2 million in college scholarships made possible through the GRAMMY Foundation’s college partners: Berklee College of Music, Manhattan School of Music, The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, and USC Thornton School of Music.” 

Aside from the Grammy Camp – Jazz Session, Carlos plays lead trumpet as part of Downey High School’s award-winning Jazz Ensemble. He has also performed at the 58th annual Monterey Jazz Festival, as part of the 2015 Next Generation Jazz Orchestra, a big band made up of some of the top high school jazz musicians in the country. 

Carlos is also the lead trumpet player of the Jazz Workshop Big Band at Colburn School, and USC’s Los Angeles Youth Jazz Ensemble. 

Carlos has had the opportunities to play with some of the best jazz musicians around today: Wynton Marsalis, Ted Nash, Jeff Hamilton, Bernie Dresel, Andy Martin, Eric Marienthal, Willie Murillo. Carlos plans to attend a music school on the east coast of the United States and major in trumpet performance and music education. 

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