Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Travis Peterson hasn’t been able to play his trumpet anywhere other than his apartment.
Around 11 a.m. or noon each day, Peterson pulls out his trumpet and runs through some warmups. He then picks a piece of music, finds a recording of that piece and plays along.
“My neighbors don’t get upset because I don’t sound bad, generally,” Peterson, who has been the principal trumpet player for the Utah Symphony since 2013, previously told the Deseret News.
“But right now, that’s as close as I can get to feeling like I’m in an orchestra.”
On Sunday, Peterson got to perform for more people than his neighbors. He found his way to a much larger audience on national television.
Recently from their homes, Peterson and his three fellow trumpet players in the symphony — Jeff Luke, Paul Torrisi and Alex Pride — recorded the theme song for “CBS Sunday Morning” called “Abblasen.”
Peterson’s wife, Andrea, edited the four recordings into a video the musicians submitted to the show. That video popped up at the start of “CBS Sunday Morning” on April 26.
On “CBS Sunday Morning,” “Abblasen” is normally a solo recorded by Wynton Marsalis. Luke arranged the fanfare for four trumpets, according to a post on Peterson’s Facebook. Peterson kicked off the arrangement. The other trumpet players joined in one at a time. As the musicians played, viewers could get a glimpse of framed pictures on their walls, including a poster of Tanglewood — the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
“This is ‘Sunday Morning,’ introduced this morning, compliments of the social distancing Utah Symphony,” host Jane Pauley said following the performance.
Watching from his apartment, Peterson recorded the performance on his phone when it went live. In the video that he shared to Facebook, he gives a thumbs up as the theme song comes to an end.
“We were on CBS Sunday Morning!! I can’t believe it,” Peterson wrote on Facebook. “HUGE thanks to Jeff Luke!! This wouldn’t have happened had he not had the idea AND arranged this fanfare so amazingly for 4 trumpets. He’s pretty much the best ever!! Thanks to Andrea, who edited this together for us too; SHE is the best of the best ❤”
“CBS Sunday Morning” released a clip of the performance on Facebook shortly after it aired. As of Monday afternoon, the clip has more than 50,000 views.