A proud Edmontonian, Joel Gray attended the music programs of Grant MacEwan College and the University of Alberta, studying trumpet with William Dimmer of the ESO and Dr. Fordyce Pier. He started playing professionally at the age of 17, and has shared the stage with some of the world’s finest artists, including Tommy Banks, P.J. Perry, Slide Hampton, Diana Krall, Nikki Yanovsky, Jens Lindemann, Allen Vizzutti, Rollanda Lee, and commercial talents Gino Vannelli, Frank Sinatra Jr., the Temptations, and Wayne Newton. Joel was recently a featured soloist with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra performing “A Tribute to Louis Armstrong” and played with the ESO in their Carnegie Hall debut in 2012.