About Me :.
My Resume

My name is Jeremy David Leidhecker and I was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania on January 30th, 1987. My parents, Bob and Aegina Leidhecker, both went to Mansfield University for Music Education and are currently middle and elementary school band directors respectively in the Loyalsock Township School District where I attended school. My dad is originally from the Williamsport area, has played with the Williamsport Symphony for many years now, and completed multiple tours with the Empire Brass quintet as their percussionist almost 20 years ago. My mom moved to the Williamsport area after marrying my dad shortly after college and has been a flute player in the Williamsport symphony for quite a long time as well. I have one younger brother, Chris, who is a very talented percussionist and musician and is currently completing his undergraduate in Music Education at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Needless to say, music has been the most predominant aspect of my life. Throughout the years, I have been exposed to many different forms of music, even before I was born. While carrying me, my mom attended many symphony rehearsals and concerts, Empire Brass performances, jazz concerts that my dad was playing in, school band activities, and many other musical events; she even played classical music to me through her stomach via headphones. I started playing piano when I was about 4 years old before grade school and haven’t stopped. Piano continues to be one of my favorite aspects of music. Trumpet, which I began playing in 4th grade, has essentially been my main vehicle into the music world. I participated in many Pennsylvania Music Educators festivals throughout high school at the district, regional and state level and eventually realized I wanted to become a music major.

Other aspects of music started to interest me throughout my senior year of high school. I soon found myself sitting down at the piano playing piano parts I heard playing through my dad’s stereo speakers such as “Lady” by Styx and “Eleanor Rigby” by Chick Corea. It was about that time that I started doing a lot of transcribing. I found myself sucked into the transcription process of pieces, working hours upon hours and not even realizing it. I discovered that transcription was unusually easy for me and therefore incredibly fun and fulfilling. In my early years of college, I started transcribing pieces like “O Magnum Mysterium” by Morton Lauridsen and “Danzon” by Leonard Bernstein and arranging them for brass quintet. The constant transcribing led to an interest in arranging, which sparked a whole new aspect of music that I had otherwise not been very familiar with. I soon started writing marching band shows for Loyalsock High School and was even offered that opportunity with IUP. This interest in writing marching band shows, along with my participation in the IUP Marching Band, led me to successfully audition for the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle corps in November of 2006. I was a member of the corps for the 2007 and 2008 seasons, and was even privileged enough to write the on-field warm up for the 2008 show entitled “Samurai”.

The transcriptions and arrangements continue to be some of my favorite things to do in my free time. These two activities have led to an interest in composition and what is hopefully a next chapter in my musical life. I have been asked to write a trumpet ensemble piece to be premiered at the 2009 International Trumpet Guild Conference in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and am currently working on an original piece for trumpet and percussion to be premiered on my senior recital in December of 2008. I have no idea what my future in music entails, but I am certainly anxious to move on past IUP and continue my musical career somewhere else. I have interest in performing with the on-stage production of “Blast!” and will be submitting an audition DVD to them sometime soon, but am mainly interested in furthering my education in music in a Masters and eventually Doctoral degree program somewhere. I have always had an interest in film scores, and would enjoy eventually composing original soundtracks professionally.

As for now, I continue to go to class here at IUP, work on material for my senior recital, prepare for student teaching in the Spring semester, and am wrapping up my role as Commanding Officer of the IUP Marching Band for the 2008 season. The opportunities I’ve had over the years continue to help me grow as a person and musician and are helping to pave my way into what will hopefully be a long, successful, and above all, enjoyable career in music.

Thanks for stopping by my website and feel free to look around, send me feedback, or just say hello!