Class of 2004
Trumpet, U.S. Army Band (Pershing\u2019s Own)
Solo flugelhorn, The Brass of the Potomac
Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
E.J. Ramos still gets emotional when he thinks about the moment he realized how important music is to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He was studying with Valparaiso University trumpet instructor Charles Steck when it happened. \u201cI was in a trumpet lesson with Mr. Steck,\u201d E.J. recalls. \u201cWe were playing through something, and I just put my horn down and said, \u2018This sucks.\u2019 Mr. Steck said, \u2018What? Excuse me?\u2019 I told him I needed to do what I love and what I enjoy, and I had to change my major.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
E.J. began playing the trumpet when he was in fourth grade but chose to attend Valparaiso University to study engineering rather than music. Then, after two years in the College of Engineering, E.J. says, \u201cI loved the engineering department, but I got to a point where I just didn\u2019t feel right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was in that trumpet lesson that E.J. realized his true calling and decided to pursue a meaningful vocation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today E.J. is a trumpeter and bugler in Pershing\u2019s Own \u2014 the U.S. Army Band. He is a member of the band\u2019s ceremonial ensemble that plays at the White House and the Pentagon for foreign dignitaries and special ceremonies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The band\u2019s main function, though, is to play at the funerals of both active duty and retired military members, and as a trumpeter, E.J. has a special distinction. It\u2019s his responsibility to play \u201cTaps\u201d, the 24-note bugle arrangement played in the Army to honor the dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today \u201cTaps\u201d is a standard part of U.S. military funerals \u2014 a responsibility that E.J. does not take lightly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n