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By JEFFREY D. WAGNER Gazette Staff Writer
WOODLANDS, Texas -Taunton's Louis Bayer paused nervously when asked to discuss the musical influences of his son, Daryl - a trumpet and keyboard player whose musical endeavors began at the age of 4 1/2 years old.
Before naming a few contemporary and classical musicians, Louis noted the difficulty of generalizing the influences of Daryl, a 40-year-old Taunton native who garnered music trophies when most children were still learning to read. But Daryl, now director of the John Cooper School in Woodlands, Texas, and Texas Brass Ensemble, had no problem connecting his success as a Texas musician to his work with former Taunton City Band Director Louis Perry and his uncle Irving Schein, also a former Taunton resident.
Daryl, a Boston University music graduate with a master's degree from the University of Houston, never 1ost interest in music and credits his Silver City influences for maintaining his interest. He says his uncle introduced him to area music competitions, while Perry helped shape his style as a music director. "My Uncle Irvy was my mentor for many years, and Louis Perry directed the Taunton City Band. Today, I am trying to follow (Perry's) leadership style in directing," he said recently by phone from Texas. "My Uncle Irvy had connections to contests. He was the driving force behind the early, early stuff." And with his uncle's influence, Daryl placed second in a contest sponsored by the Mass. Music Teacher's Association at age six in a junior level competition. He placed first at the age of seven, in the same competition, from among a crop of musicians who approached their adolescent years. -- Daryl also played with the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, studied jazz at the Berkeley School of Music and competed in the Mass, All-States Orchestra competition while a. Taunton High School student. He obtained the first chair principal trumpet in the competition during his freshman and junior years at Taunton High. Daryl also performed with the Boston Pops, the Corpus Christi Symphony and the Houston Symphony. Daryl said he had won the opportunity to solo with the Boston Pops in a musician's competition. And after playing with the group, Boston Pops representatives asked Daryl to return the following year. In addition to these endeavors, Daryl served as a musician for the Temptations and the O'Jays.
Recently, Daryl participated in the debut performance and the formation of the Woodlands Concert Band, described by some as the first community band of the south Montgomery County area in Texas. He credits his roots in the Taunton City Band for guiding him to successfully form the Woodlands Concert Band. He said the band has been a success in the Woodlands, and resembles the style of the Louis Perry-directed Taunton City Band. "My experience in the Taunton City Band and growing up in Taunton have helped what I do today," he reflected. "I really tried to model the Woodlands Concert Band after the Taunton City Band." He added, "It helped me decide I wanted to do the same thing for the Woodlands."
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