Trumpet player Philip J. Ruecktenwald died in April 2005 at the age of 50. He was formerly the Principal Trumpet of the New York City Opera Orchestra.

Philip was born on 27th July, 1954, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He had previously lived in Warren before moving to Branchburg, New Jersey, eight years ago.

Philip played Principal Trumpet for NYC Opera at Lincoln Center for 17 years before retiring in 2003. He taught trumpet for five years at The College of New Jersey in Trenton, and was a member of the American Federation of Musicians-AFL-CIO, Local 802 and the Associated Musicians of Greater New York. He leaves a wife and three sons.

Friend and colleague Wilmer Wise recalls, "We worked together on many jobs. Phil played that shining piccolo trumpet part on the West Side Story recording with Bernstein... I spoke with Phil shortly before he died. He was, as always, cracking bad jokes and breaking himself up. Phil was a super human being."