Introducing Stuart E. Rice Today Stuart E. Rice (me) will be speaking on "Blast! The Shot Heard Around the World." My address will touch on the conventional and political ramifications of this highly successful indoor medium. I started music on the trumpet in elementary school 1974 and marching in junior high school 1977. I played five instruments in junior high school before settling on the baritone, which became my primary. I played, marched, and "danced" seven days a week in a nearby amusement park show band from 1980 until 1984, leaving early in 1981 when I toured Europe with America's Youth in Concert, and 1983 when I joined the Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps midway through first tour. Our corps came in second during Finals Week, and I had the fortune of winning Best Brass Ensemble with several other members at DCI Individual and Ensemble. I accepted a trombone performance scholarship to the Juilliard School of Music in 1983. I later transferred to the University of Utah, where I informally studied marching under Ronald Crosby and pursued a music education degree even more informally. After serving University of Utah wind, orchestral, and brass ensembles from 1984 through 1988, I moved to Colorado to instruct marching for the Rocky Mountain Magic Drum and Bugle Corps. I then returned to Utah where I sang, composed, arranged, and on occasion led the University of Utah Institute Concert Choir. While in the choir, I met and married Nolana in 1991. I graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Music Degree. After instructing K-12 music for Utah's Duchesne School District 1996-1997, I went into health insurance, and now work as an editor, auditor, and researcher of claim denial data with respect to customer service and NCQA standards. I have studied and performed ballet, modern dance, opera, and created in other multimedia including Bukvitch's "In Memoriam Dresden" (University of Utah, 1988), and Messiaen's "... And I Await the Resurrection of the Dead" (University of Northern Colorado, 1989). I enjoy research, tai-chi chuan, and spending time with my family. I'd like to thank God for the many gifts my family and I enjoy.