Victor Haskins: Successful Trumpeter & “Make It Real” Personality

Name: 
Victor X. Haskins

Year: 
Class of 2013 (was Class of 2014, but I am graduating a year ahead of schedule)

Major: 
Jazz Trumpet/Performance

When did you start playing the trumpet and what sparked your interest in music?
I started playing trumpet in the 6th grade.  I started playing jazz seriously when I got to college (though the interest to do so existed long beforehand).  I became interested in music when I first played the trumpet in band class after we had made our instrument selections.  It was so much fun to play that I would practice as much as possible, and when I found out in high school that being a musician full-time was a viable career option, I decided that the musician’s life was the life for me.

What made you choose VCU?
The prospect of being able to study classical music and jazz with professors who could do a great job of teaching both was the main edge VCU had over other schools for me.

Who are your influences and role models?
My main influence for life has been my father—he always stressed doing the right thing, being honest, and working hard, all of which are key aspects to how I operate on a daily basis.  Consequently, these (amongst other lessons) guiding principles have been the reasons that I have been successful in life thus far.

Musically, my role models have been Miles Davis (more as a conceptualist with how he leads bands) and Woody Shaw (for his inventive approach to improvising as a trumpeter).

What other instruments do you play?
I don’t play any other instruments well enough to say I perform music on them.

What ensembles are you in? 
I am in Jazz Orchestra 1 and a small jazz ensemble as far as my school ensembles go.  Professionally, my main musical vehicle is The Victor Haskins Group, which is an ensemble which varies in size and instrumentation (except that trumpet is part of all of its configurations).  I write the music for this band and lead the group in terms of how we communicate as a band (musically) and how we play the compositions and arrangements.  I also do a lot of work playing with Jason Jenkins (local bassist and co-founder of 32 Bars Records—which is the label I will be recording my first album for in the next few months).

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When and where can people come to hear you play?
People can hear me play at Bogart’s (1903 West Cary St) every other Wednesday from 9pm until midnight, so the next time that happens is November 21 and then December 5.  I will also be doing a show at the Nile (309 North Laurel St—right behind Brandt dorms) on November 27 at 10pm.  All of those are with the Victor Haskins Group.  More dates can be found on my website:  

www.victorhaskins.com

What have been the highlights of your music career so far?
The highlights thus far would be going to Turkey this past summer and teaching and performing as a member of the faculty of the first-ever Izmir International Jazz Camp (sponsored by VCU, amongst other academic institutions).  Being a part of the group of VCU jazz students selected to participate in the cultural exchange with KwaZulu-Natal University in Durban, South Africa has been very special as well (anything dealing with other cultures not my own is always a highlight to me).  And another highlight would be winning 2nd place in the National Trumpet Competition Jazz Division this past year (where competitors can be up to 25 years in age as long as they are enrolled in an academic institution—so there is no separation between graduate or undergraduate competitors).

How did you get involved in the Make It Real campaign?
I had already been featured in the “Our Time. Right Now” campaign, so the people who ran that called me back to audition for the Make It Real campaign, for which I was subsequently chosen.

What’s it like representing VCU and seeing your face on the Make It Real posters?
To be honest, it really doesn’t feel any different.  We (students) are all representing VCU (in addition to ourselves, our families, organizations, etc.) all the time, so just because my face is on the website or a billboard doesn’t change how I act or who I am.  I just keep doing what I’m doing because it is the right thing to do, and if VCU wants to point at me and recognize what I am doing as being what they want to represent the image of the school, then more power to them.  I appreciate the opportunity and the recognition, but nothing has changed.

However, I will admit that it was surprising to wake up one morning and the first thing I see on the website is my face.  That was pretty cool.  Many emails containing a link to VCU’s homepage were sent that morning.

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What is something people should know about you as a person, a student, and a musician?
They should know that I am all about honesty and being real (no pun intended).  I am not about bullshit or pretense.  This applies to the way I see music, the way people interact with others, education, and every aspect of life.  When I made my salutatorian speech on high school graduation day, I specifically called out the lack of maintaining high standards, both on the part of the students and the teachers.  There is a very lax attitude which pervades American society in general—a lack of an edge and passion.  That’s another important thing about me.  I am very passionate—about life, music, or whatever it might be that I am involved in at the moment, and that makes a huge difference in the way I accomplish tasks—no matter how simple or complex, difficult or easy.  Everything matters, and nothing should be done half-heartedly.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years? What is your dream job?
I have no idea where I will be in 10 years, and furthermore, I have no desire to know where I will be.  I really would like to follow the path that life has laid for me, and as long as I take the opportunities which appear, work hard, and have a great attitude and some common sense about me, I should end up in a good place (which sounds hopelessly optimistic, but that’s how things work in my experience).  My dream job is doing whatever makes me happiest and does the greatest good for the world, which at this point in my life means writing, playing, and teaching music.

Do you have any other talents or hobbies we should know about?
I love reading.  Also, I used to do parkour/freerunning/tricking and I used to breakdance—I don’t do either anymore because I don’t want to get an injury which would hinder my professional activities.

A word of advice:
Always do your best, and never settle for less.  When I play music for an engagement where I am the bandleader and the band is making a ton of money, I play just as hard and emotionally as I do when I play as a solo trumpeter in a noisy restaurant where I may be making little or no money.  There is a two-fold reason for something like this—first, the music itself deserves the respect of the total devotion of your mind, body, and soul in that moment (feel free to replace the word “music” with any other subject matter—science, math, raking leaves, etc).  And second, someone is always listening/watching.  Always.  Someone who could hire you for the next job you do, or someone whose life you might change by doing the job right and whole-heartedly.  If you are half-assing your task at hand for whatever reason, you might not get hired again, and worse, you might not improve the state of the world in which we live.  Both are unacceptable.  Put in the effort.