Stephen Chenette, former principal trumpet in the Minnesota Orchestra, introduced the panel members by number of years of experience. He noted that Herseth extends our idea of what can be done on trumpet every time walks on stage and that there are other things to do in retirement besides waste away in an armchair.

Host Griffen posed two questions for the panel. The first: "How did you end up being a trumpet player?" In his wonderfully articulate and social French manner, Voisin noted that in France you do what your father says. "He told me to play the trumpet, and so I did." Gould attributed his trumpeting to his grandmother. He spent a great deal of time with her, and she was an admirer of Louis Armstrong and Harry James, both of whose recordings Gould listened to many times by the age of nine. Gould, whose humorous comments can out-Herseth and out-Voisin the best of teachers, noted that he was also intrigued by the playing of Miles Davis and wondered how anyone could play like Maynard Ferguson and "crack a wall down." Vacchiano began his playing by accident after denting a boyhood friend's baritone. His father indicated that he could play the clarinet, but when he went to see his friend's music teacher, he could not recall the name of the instrument. When the teacher mentioned the cornet, Vacchiano said, "Yes, that's it." Herseth indicated how lucky he had been to be introduced to the instrument by his father, a school administrator and band conductor. Finally, Pirinen explained how the Scandinavian school system works and that he made his entrance into the music program at age seven. Since he could not find a piano teacher, he had to settle for one of the available teachers who just happened to be a trumpet teacher.

Griffen's second question clearly brought a serious complexion to the lively histories of the panelists: "What do think of the use of beta blockers to calm the nerves of persons auditioning." Panelists clearly disagreed. Gould and Pirinen indicated that if one is highly disturbed or agitated, they saw no difficulty in taking the medication on an infrequent basis and just for the most severe cases of nervousness. Vacchiano and Herseth strongly opposed the use of any medication for the relief of stress while playing or auditioning, with Herseth indicating that because of his recent bypass surgery he has to take a mild beta blocker and that it definitely slows him down. He is of the opinion that if a performer needs to take the medication to get through a performance, the player should not be on stage at all.