My name is Marisa Webster, and I was born and raised in Orange Park, Florida. For most of my life, music has been my passion. From playing in various church services to studying music in high school and college, music has been an important part of my life. I especially love listening, composing, and performing jazz music. I love how performing allows me to express myself and convey, through my trumpet, all that I have to say. Before I learned how to read music, I used to sit at the piano play melodies that I liked by ear. I didn’t start taking piano lessons until elementary school. In the seventh grade, I was introduced to the trumpet and immediately fell in love with it.

In hopes of taking my musical gifts to the next level, I decided to attend Douglas Anderson School of the Arts (“D.A.”). Attending D.A. has provided me with so many amazing opportunities: lasting connections with professional musicians; the opportunity to perform at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago; the opportunity to perform in the Savannah “Swing Central” jazz competition; and the opportunity to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City. I was a member of the Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestra for three years. I also competed and placed in the Concert on the Green Concerto competition, as well as the Jacksonville Jazz Festival Youth Talent Competition.

When I started college at Florida State University, I was given the opportunity to deepen my studies of music and grow even more as a musician. I decided to major in Jazz Studies, with a focus on classical trumpet technique and literature, and minor in commercial Entrepreneurship. I continued to have great experiences, like performing two years in a row at the Tallahassee Jazz and Blues Festival with FSU’s Jazz Ensemble One, as well as serving as an active freelancing musician in the Tallahassee and Jacksonville communities. In February of 2017 and 2018, I was selected to perform in the “Future of Jazz” concert in Savannah Georgia. I was also selected and currently serve, as a member of the Mica Bethea Big band, performing at both the Jacksonville Jazz Festival and the Lavilla Jazz Festival in 2018. I have also had the great pleasure of working and volunteering at a great arts non-profit organization in Jacksonville, Fl called “Don’t Miss A Beat”. I have been so blessed to perform with and learn from so many wonderful artists, such as Marcus Printup, Mica Bethea, Ron Blake, Victor Provost, Dion Parsons, Linda Cole, Jon Faddis, Rodney Jordan, Alphonso Horne, Michael Dease, Jason Hainsworth, Marlene Rosenberg, Marcus Roberts, Jason Marsalis, John Lumpkin, Melvin Jones, and Ulysses Owens Jr. Their support, encouragement, and wisdom have really contributed to the growth I have experienced on my musical journey.

In addition to my love of learning and performing in front of an audience, I also love to teach and compose music. I have had the great honor of being a substitute trumpet teacher at the Morris Music Academy in Jacksonville where I taught children from the ages of 7-12 to play the trumpet. I also had the honor of teaching students how to play the piano, as well as basic music theory. This experience brought me so much joy. I loved seeing my students connect the dots in their minds and improve on their instruments. During my junior year in college, I took a “Jazz Theory and Arranging” course. This class sparked a new passion in me-composing and arranging.

I loved every second of this class and felt inspired to continue writing, even after the class was completed. Composing provides me with an opportunity to express myself with music instead of words. I gain so much fulfillment from hearing my pieces come to life when a live band performs them. From my experiences as a growing musician, I have come to realize that music can really take you places. So far, I have performed in Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Maine, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. I am so excited to see where my music career will take me in the future. Looking at the careers of my musical mentors is so inspiring to me because it shows me all the endless possibilities that are in store for me and that I truly can follow my dreams of being a professional musician. I hope to incorporate performing, educating, and composition in my career and I pray that I can inspire younger musicians in the same ways that my mentors have inspired me.