We were lucky to catch up with Chacko Finn recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Chacko, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I knew I wanted to keep playing trombone as an adult but it wasn’t until my senior year of high school I wanted to pursue music. I was studing trombone with Stephanie Bryan, a well loved trombonist of several symphonies and education. She pushed me to be the best musician I could be, focusing on tone, timbre, and time. On top of this, she taught me about being a professional, not just a professional musician. She got me to go from a young trombone player to first chair at state, I rating at solo contests, and into the Youth Symphony of Kansas City.

Her dedication to her students made most of us study music. I was her very last student before her passing, and her love for her craft and she besowed that same passion to us. Many of her students still play or are teaching music. That is when I knew I wanted to be in music. I chose to study music education to pass along this same love for my craft as she did for me. While I didnt end up teaching as a full time career, I get to teach many students as a clinician as well as a studio teacher.

My other inspiration was my high school band director Mr. Reed. He always knew how to bring the best out of us. I have been out of high school for almost 10 years and he and I still have regular conversations and he is proud of all of his students who have excelled in their careers, even if it wasnt in music. I wanted to pursue music and music education to be like him and find the best in everyone. Performing brings the best out of me.

Chacko, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am born and raised in Kansas City and have been playing trombone professionally since 2018. I am a classically trained trombonist but I love getting to perform many genres including big band jazz, funk/rock, orchestras, wind bands, musical theatre, and much more.

Since graduating from UMKC in 2018, I have had the honor of having playing with incredible artists such as the Pablo Sanhueza & The Kansas City Latin Jazz Orchestra, Tito Puente Jr, Jay Sollenberger, Christopher Bill, Victor Trevino, Dominique Scott, Kadesh Flow, and many more. I have played in numerous pit orchestras around the city including MTKC, MET-KC, Jewish Community Center. In 2021 I had the opportunity to perform in The King in Concert at the New Theatre & Restaurant and was also the featured soloist with the Mason (OH) Wind Symphony in 2022 at the Kauffman Center of the Performing Arts.

I regularly perform with Back Alley Brass Band, Gekko, and Brass Rewind.

Along with performing on stages, I have had the opportunity to record on several albums with Marcus Lewis Big Band’s “Brass and Boujee” as well as with Kansas City musicians/bands David Geroge Orchestra, Vela, Swoovi, Composer Nick Maluf, and Doobie N.M.

I am also passionate about music education, currently serving as a low brass instructor at Rockhurst High School and private trombone teacher. I’ve also spent time as a competition coach and marching band technician in schools across the metro.

I am dedicated to music education and performing. Performing with the current and previous generations of musicians continues to inspire me to learn and grow, then teaching what I learned to the next generation, now I am playing shows with my students. Full circle and full growth.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

There was a time where I almost quit music. Before the COVID-19 Pandemic, I was performing and rehearsing 5-6 nights a week, on top of a full time job. It was to the point where I just couldn’t keep up. The Pandemic gave me the break I didn’t know how to take. I took it upon myself to put my instruments in their cases and into the closet. I took nearly 5 months off my instruments before playing more than 10 minutes.

When I was able to take gigs again, I changed my approach. Instead of taking every single gig and being a “yes man” I started prioritizing me and who I wanted to be as a musician. If youre always playing, you arent always growing. I take more time to practice techniques and transcribing to keep myself motivated.

When I changed this in myself, I started taking on new opportunities like playing with New Theatre Restaurant, and being a featured soloist at the Kauffman Center. My work started to show what I was capable of. I am still taking lessons and sitting and working with other musicians. Its how we become better people and better musicians.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My current goal is to work on writing original music for my current bands as well as starting my own group. This is something I have wanted to do but didnt know how to get it started. Now I have 4 songs in the works as well as a working title. All of the music is picked for an homage to Kansas City. This will also showcase many musicians in the city.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @chackofinn_music
• Facebook: @chackofinn

Image Credits
Shots By Ed Scavo’s Photos Steinmiller Productions