William B. Cole' Music Background
Bill’s Love Of Music Ignited His Passion In Learning And Performance
Bill grew up in a very small village called Williamsville, in the larger town of Amherst, a suburb of Buffalo, in Western New York State. It was one of the best school districts in the country, and it still is. The schools were distinguished by offering a very well-rounded set of student experiences, with particular excellence in sports, music and drama.
The Williamsville school district is located virtually halfway between two outstanding music schools, the State University of New York at Fredonia and the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester. Eastman is consistently ranked as one of the best music programs globally, notably placing 3rd in North America and 11th worldwide in the QS World University Rankings for Music. Many of Bill’s music teachers came from both of these schools.
Music was a defining experience that set Bill on his career path as a performance psychology consultant.
He started on the trombone at age 8 in elementary school. He ultimately played bass trombone, tenor trombone, baritone, and baritone bugle. He played in every type of musical group possible—pit orchestras for musicals, marching bands, symphonic bands, concert bands, orchestras, brass choirs, jazz ensembles, rock bands and a drum and bugle corps.
Bill’s high school symphonic band was ranked in the top three in the nation. They played throughout the US and Canada. Bill played at a very high level, and he was selected for the New York State All-State Orchestra and also the Erie County All-County Band. He was on track to go to music school, but changed course into sport psychology at the last minute. In high school he sat first-chair-first, ahead of two of his trombone friends who actually did go to music school and became very successful professional musicians.
Even though Bill consistently performed at a high level throughout his music career, he was perplexed as to why he could go from "hero to zero" in the blink of an eye in sports. That question is what launched him into a lifelong quest to discover that answer.
Bill’s background in music and the racquet sports gave him deep insights into performance psychology, learning psychology and teaching and coaching. He was exposed to phenomenal teachers and coaches who modeled excellence, and who expected excellence. They inspired him to pursue teaching, coaching and to become a leader in his field.
Musical Groups Bill Played With
Bill has had the privilege of performing with some well-known musical groups and musicians.
Buddy Rich: Bill played in his high school Jazz Ensemble and was the opening act for Buddy Rich and his Big Band in a concert. Buddy Rich left a legacy as one of the most technically flawless, powerful, and influential drummers in music history. Renowned for his blazing speed, precise hand technique, and explosive energy, Buddy elevated the drum kit from a time-keeping device to a virtuosic solo instrument. Buddy Rich is consistently ranked in the top 10 in history of drummers, across all music genres, and is often ranked number one in the jazz category.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddy_Rich
Chuck Mangione: Bill performed with multiple Grammy-award winner Chuck Mangione as a member of his orchestra in a recorded Friends and Love concert in 1973. This was at the height of Mangione's popularity as a composer, arranger and master of the flugelhorn. Chuck is best known for his 1978 mega-hit "Feels So Good". Across a 60-year career, he defined 1970s and 80s smooth jazz, earning international fame.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Mangione
https://www.chuckmangione.com/
Suburban Knights Drum And Bugle Corps: Bill played bugle in the Suburban Knights Drum and Bugle Corps, competing throughout New York State and Canada.
Heart’s Blood And Jamison Rock Bands: Bill played in two Chicago / Blood Sweat and Tears type rock horn bands in high school and after. He made money as a professional musician for a brief period of time.
Some Of Bill’s Friends Who Went Into The Music Industry
Many of Bill’s high school music friends went on to careers in the music industry as recording engineers, recording studio owners, touring musicians, session musicians, music, directors, band directors, and members of philharmonic orchestras across the United States.
Here are some examples of what his high school friends did in the music industry.
Robert Kinkel, The Trans-Siberian Orchestra: One famous high school bandmate is Robert Kinkel, who was a founding member, Musical Director, composer and arranger for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO). TSO has sold over 10 million concert tickets and more than 12 million albums. Their success includes several multi-platinum, platinum, and gold achievements. They are largely credited with bringing symphonic heavy metal and progressive rock opera to the mainstream. The most famous Trans-Siberian Orchestra song is "Christmas Eve / Sarajevo 12/24".
Trans-Siberian Orchestra is widely considered the most commercially successful rock orchestra in modern music history. Billboard Magazine and Pollstar frequently rank TSO as one of the top-grossing live acts globally, and they easily hold the crown as the biggest seasonal rock draw in the world.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Siberian_Orchestra
Robert Kinkel and Bill were inducted the same year, 2003, into the Williamsville School District Wall Of Fame.
Bill Fayne: Bill was the high school Musical Director and eventually became the conductor-arranger for Las Vegas singing sensation Clint Holmes, who had the international hit record, Playground in My Mind,". This track peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1973.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clint_Holmes
Brian O’Neill, Bonerama, and Wayne Cochrane and the C.C. Riders: Brian sat two chairs down from Bill in high school, playing the bass trombone. Brian went on to play professionally for two very well-known brass-oriented groups:
https://www.boneramabrass.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonerama
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Cochran
Carol Becker, of Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine, and Molly Hatchett: Carol Becker sang for Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine, who won three Grammy Awards, and the American Music Award for Lifetime Achievement.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloria_Estefan
Carol also sang for Molly Hatchett, the southern hard rock band.
http://www.mollyhatchet.com/MollyHatchet/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molly_Hatchet
Jim Lecksell: Jim was the founder of the rock band Heart’s Blood in high school and is a graduate of the State University of New York at Fredonia music program. Jim was a popular band leader and musician throughout Western New York and composed and arranged a number of musical pieces in his career before he turned to DJ work.
Philharmonic Orchestra and Band Directors Throughout The USA: Many of Bill’s bandmates went to music school and played in Philharmonic Orchestras across the USA, as well as becoming Music Directors and Band Directors in public and private schools.
