From Buju Banton to Johan Bach, Matt Ross has never limited his exploration of music.

The 22-year-old trumpet player has gone from the ska stylings of his former high school band, The Secret Popo, to the pinnacle of orchestral training in Canada. Now a student at The Glenn Gould School — an elite postgraduate training centre for classical musicians, forming part of the Canadian Royal Conservatory of Music — Matt’s destiny as a professional musician is all but sealed.

But playing music for a living wasn’t always his ambition. After picking up the trumpet at the age of ten, Matt would go on to study the instrument for seven more years before he finally decided to go abroad with his talents.

However, after six years of music with Conrad Roach at Saltus, Matt was mulling over a much less creative career in accounting.

“I’ve always enjoyed music,” said Matt. “But I think when I started to seriously consider it — I had been flirting with the idea of becoming an accountant — [was after] I failed my accounts exam, so I was like: ‘Eh, maybe I’m not good at this.’”

Playing the trumpet, however, was certainly a strength of Matt’s, who left Saltus in 2009 for the University of Toronto, where he graduated with a degree in Trumpet Performance.

Between playing in the Canadian Youth Orchestra this summer — he is planning on auditioning again in a month’s time — and being accepted into the Glenn Gould School, Matt has been presented with a wealth of opportunities.

“It was great having a lot of people on faculty that are professionals playing in orchestras around Canada,” said Matt of his time in the Youth Orchestra.

“If I wanted a lesson with anyone I just had to ask them, which was really good. The first two weeks I spent in the Chamber music section, but then I was put in the brass quintet, and we had to play twice a day for two weeks, which is quite rare for a brass quintet in the real world. It’s hard to get everyone together. Everyone’s so busy, and trying to get five people on the schedule is hard. So it was nice to have everyone on the same page, rehearsing every day.”

As one of four trumpets in the school’s orchestra, the competition for enrolment is second to none at the conservatory, eponymous with former alumnus and famed Canadian pianist, Glenn Gould. Enrolments are strictly limited to the number of instrument’s in the school’s orchestra.

And it’s not just Canada recognising Matt’s gifts. Such are Matt’s talents, he was asked to take time off from his studies to perform in the Premier’s Concert this November.

“Major Barrett Dill asked me to come play. It’s always nice to go home and escape the cold of Canada, but I was actually only home for about 24 hours. I got in on the Saturday and then I left on the Sunday to play in a masterclass on Monday.”

As for what the future may hold for one of Bermuda’s brightest musical talents, Matt said he would love to continue travelling with an orchestra, but has his eyes on a decidedly less grandiose career.

“I’m actually thinking about teaching. I think if I get another degree, it will be in teaching. But we’ll see. That’s future Matt’s problem.”