Mr. Alton Baggett is not only my theater director but a role model to myself and my peers around me. He is one of the most caring and dedicated people I know, he throws himself into everything he does with his whole heart. Mr. Baggett was born on March 20, 1947 in Orlando, Florida. He has no regrets in his life and loves what he does and the people he is with.

Who is somebody that you admire? Why?
I admire our president very much. Our present president. Because of him standing positions on different things that matter a lot and his determination to stick by what he believes is correct in various situations.

What was your first job?
I delivered papers, newspapers, in order to buy my first trumpet in Jackson, Mississippi.

Did you move from Orlando, Florida to Jackson, Mississippi?
My father was in the service so we moved a lot. I went to six or seven elementary schools.

When did you know that music was what you wanted to do for the rest of your life?
I had been talked into joining the junior high school band by my friends and that’s the reason for my paper route (first job) so I could get a trumpet, take lessons and be in the band. I worked very hard to be a decent trumpet player and I was asked to play in the Jackson, Mississippi Symphony Orchestra as a third trumpet, as a high school kid. We were giving a children’s concert at the auditorium and the place was filled with hundreds, if not thousands of school children from all over town and we played Ricard Voughnera Prelude to the Third Act of Lawingrid, a very famous piece of music and in the middle of it I realized that this is what I want to do the rest of my life. That was the switch. Everything else changed from that point. I had a goal and I was going to follow it.

What has been one of the greatest achievements in your life?
My two daughters. Without a doubt.

Why do you connect to music so much?
I think music opened every door I have ever been interested in going to. It has proved opportunities, rewards, my life.

What was it like to raise two daughters?
It was an experiment. And I say that correctly. Even though I say we moved a lot when I was young, I wasn’t really in contact with my father very much. I would almost say I was raised completely by my mother. My father was always away in another part of the world, military stuff and when he retired he moved away so I really didn't have any role model as a father figure so I really made it up as I went along. It has been a wonderful, exciting experiment and I think my wife and I did right by them. I know we did.

If you had a son, what would you name him?
That’s a good question since my wife’s name is Barrie. My oldest daughter’s name is Keith and my youngest daughter’s name is Jaycen. I have no idea. I’m glad I was never faced with that problem.

If you had three wishes right now, what would they be?
My first wish would be for a good, long, healthy life for everyone I know, my family in particular. My second wish would be to be able to correct the education system, particularly in Webster and Oxford, in such a way that it would benefit our kids and my make my wife and I’s programs more accessible and take away all the financial hardships. My third wish would be for my two daughters to have everything they ever wanted in life, that’s good for them.

Where do you find yourself most comfortable?
In the trumpet section of an orchestra. That is where I feel best and most confident.

Where did you go to college?
I went to Louisiana State University where I was in every musical organization except the chorus. I was drum major of the marching band for four years. Then I went to New England Conservatory of Music and then to UMass Amherst to get my masters for performance.

How did you find Oxford because you lived in the south for most of your life?
I came up north to study at the New England Conservatory of Music to study with the first trumpet in the Boston Symphony and I had an education degree from LSU. In order to get a job in an orchestra someone has to die, there aren't that many orchestras. I realized a long time ago that I would never be in the Boston Symphony, New York or Detroit even though I auditioned for all of them. There was just something that kept me out and I didn't  have good connections then. So I went into education as my backup plan and everything else evolved out of that. I created my own brass quintet so I would be able to perform and I was taking my kids from Medway to play in the Worcester Youth Orchestra once a week and the director of the orchestra asked what I play and I told him that I had played trumpet but not in a while because I went into education   He told me that they had an orchestra and he would like for me to sit in on a rehearsal if I was interested. And I knew somebody already put a bug in his ear that I used to play first trumpet for the school orchestra and that I played in the Jackson Symphony Orchestra, the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra and I also played several years as lead trumpet in the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus so he was interested in seeing if I wanted to play so I did. I have been with it ever since, I met my wife in that orchestra (she plays flute). It was a good night when he asked me to sit in on a rehearsal.

What made you come to Oxford to teach?
At a certain point I realized I was stuck in the mud in education because it was giving me what I wanted. I left education to start my own business as an artist/musician representative, so I started my business and did that for about three years and a friend that had played in my brass quintet was teaching at Oxford and he said that they were looking for a teacher to come out here one hour a day to do the band so I came out and applied for that job and I got it just to help with the income. After I got it and started working with the kids I realized that this is where I am supposed to be, teaching. And after a year or two doing this they offered me the full time job and I accepted it.

My final question is have you never been asked a question that you have always wanted to answer?

Yes. Whether or not I wanted to change the way my life turned out. My answer is absolutely no. It is the best experience and full of so many wonderful things that I wouldn't change a thing about it.

After interviewing my director, Mr. Alton Baggett, I learned about how he found his life in music. Mr. Baggett is always considerate of the people he is around and he gives everything he has into his work because he never had someone who was as fully dedicated as he is. Mr. B is a wonderful and genuine person who is rare to find nowadays. He is one of my role models and the way he holds himself the way everyone should, with pride and a full heart.