Bo began playing baritone in 7th grade in Shreveport, LA at the urging of his best friend who wanted to learn clarinet. He stayed with the baritone horn until high school when he switched to trombone, and has been playing both ever since.
His high school jazz band won the state jazz band competition which led to regular appearances on New Jersey Public Radio’s jazz program and a performance at a jazz festival in Lincoln Center. His jazz musical highlight was soloing at Lincoln Center his senior year in high school. He was the bnad president/student director of his high school band as well as an All-Shore/All-Region trombone and baritone player.
Bo attended Ole Miss on a music scholarship where he was a section leader in the marching band and University Orchestra. While at Ole Miss he headed the ASB’s concert committee which allowed him to negotiate to get some of his favorite musicians, such as Jimmy Buffett, to perform there. As a member of Jimmy Carter’s presidential campaign staff, he had the ideal job for a college kid. He oversaw the financial side of the all the music fundraisers for the Carter campaign which had him working closely with Phil Walden and Alex Cooley on the business side of musical concerts.
While at the University of Georgia Law School, he started a big band for the law schools’ annual Libel Party. This led to various gigs around Athens, GA including a performance for former President Jimmy Carter. He also had to join the musicians’ union in order to perform in the pit for various Broadway musicals in Atlanta.
After law school, Bo took a job as the CFO of the New Orleans Symphony Orchestra. He later became the COO and then acting Executive Director of the NOSO. He is still the youngest person to ever run a major North American symphony orchestra.
While living in Aruba, he became the first “gringo” in La Nueva Fuerza, the top salsa band in Aruba. That was probably the most fun he had as a musician traveling and performing around the Caribbean, Venezuela, and Colombia. Unfortunately, he was transferred to Ithaca, NY and played with a jazz band that performed around the Finger Lakes region. After leaving the frozen climate of upstate New York for Atlanta, he played in various community bands and big bands including the former Take Note Big Band where he met Dave and Diane. If it wasn’t for his and her subbing with another big band, the Atlanta Blue Notes, he would have never met his wonderful wife, Carla.
The Usual Suspects is a great group of musicians and friends and I feel very fortunate to be a part of this group.
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