Hope, passion and sentiment.

These are the three words Tamaryn Heck uses to describe the feeling she gets when she picks up her instrument, the flugelhorn.

Tamaryn won the Champion of Champions title in the soloist section of the National Brass Band Championships playing the flugelhorn.

The unusually named instrument is the one for which she has won the greatest accolades, however, the 26-year-old is also an accomplished player of the trumpet, alto saxophone and piano, to name a few.  

Ipswich-born, Tamaryn, was introduced to music by her parents, Veronica and Warren Heck who encouraged her to take piano lessons from the age of five.

“Music became a part of my life early on,” she said. 

“My parents also learnt to play instruments in their lives, so they had recognised the huge benefit that it can bring, and they wanted that for my sister and I.”

Tamaryn attended the Collingwood Park State School and was gifted her first trumpet at the age of eight.

“I have very fond memories of playing trumpet in the school band and being a part of their regular school musicals.”

She also remembers her first trumpet teacher, Dale Richardson, and conductor of the Ipswich RSL Youth and Community Band, Bill Redpath and says they played a major role in shaping the musician she is today. 

“These teachers certainly paved the way for my musical career and provided me with so many opportunities to not only expand my skills but to also develop my love and appreciation for music.”

And pave the way they did as Tamaryn continued to advance her skills.

“In high school, I dabbled on my Mum’s alto saxophone until I was good enough to play in one of the school bands. 

“Since then, I have been able to learn a few other woodwind instruments like the clarinet and flute. 

“As a teenager, I bought myself an acoustic guitar and loved learning classics and current pop music.”

Despite her multifaceted ability, it’s the trumpet which she considers to be her main instrument after studying it through a Bachelor’s degree at the prestigious Queensland Conservatorium of Music. 

“Studying classical trumpet at the Conservatorium involved a very necessary practical experience in various orchestras and ensembles, as well as extending my theoretical knowledge of music.”

Although grateful for the opportunity to learn under former principal trumpet of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Sarah Butler and the current head of brass, Peter Luff.

‘The Con’ was also where she met her fiancé, Jake Mirabito.

“He was studying classical bass trombone,” she said.

“My fiancé inspires me every day. 

“He is such a huge source of support and encouragement, helping me to achieve the things I want to do in life and my career.”

After completing her tertiary studies in 2015, Tamaryn was 19 when she joined the Brisbane Brass Band as a cornet player, only to be offered the flugelhorn position shortly after. 

“Playing the flugelhorn has become a very big and very important part of my life,” she said. 

And despite winning several awards both nationally and internationally, there are two achievements which stand out to her the most.

In 2003, Merv Neumann OAM, Tamaryn’s grandfather, was named the Ipswich Citizen of the Year and eight years later, she followed in his footsteps when she was awarded the city’s Young Citizen of the Year.

Her second ‘stand out’ achievement was her unexpected win at the Australian National Brass Band Championships in 2019 as a soloist. 

“Having only been playing the flugelhorn for two years and never competing in solo events before, it was just such an unexpected and very humbling experience,” she said. 

“I won that section and went on to compete in the ‘Champion of Champions’ category later that day, which involves the winners from all of the other open brass categories.

“There were so many amazing soloists in all of the categories, and I had never competed as a soloist before, so I was not expecting to go so far as getting into the Champion of Champions section, let alone winning it as well.

“I was so proud of myself in what I had achieved.”

But finding the right career path is difficult. 

“One of the biggest challenges has been to identify exactly what I want to do in the industry and how to pursue and achieve that. 

“A lot of options weren’t available to me, so I had to adapt and find ways to fulfil my desire to play while also being able to earn an income to support myself financially.”

Now living in Brisbane, Tamaryn said she owes a lot of her community spirit and musical upbringing to the cultural influence of Ipswich city.

“I love all of the opportunities that Ipswich provides to all of the young musicians out there who are just getting started. 

“An inspirational figure for me early on in my trumpet playing was James Morrison.

“And I got to play in a trumpet choir led by him for the opening of the University of Southern Queensland in the Springfield campus.

“There are some incredible opportunities and inspirational teachers to learn from and great youth community bands to join in Ipswich.”

Although defeating the ‘9 to 5’ normality by teaching private lessons at three different schools and undertaking freelance work to earn a living at the moment, Tamaryn said she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Music is so important to me,” she said. 

“I can’t imagine doing anything else.

“If it is truly your passion to pursue music, then it would be a complete disservice to yourself to not follow your dreams for fear of failure or lack of success. 

“Not trying is an instant failure but giving something a go that you truly wish to do can open up so many possibilities that you might not have realised were available. 

“Knowing one’s full potential is so hard to gauge until you actually commit and apply yourself wholeheartedly to the task, so don’t write off the possibility to have a full and successful career in music.”