Trumpeter Daniel (Mr. T) Tetzlaff kept the music going

Daniel (Mr. T) Tetzlaff, who played trumpet for the former Minneapolis Symphony orchestra and the old Guthrie Theater, was probably as talented a teacher as he was a musician.

Tetzlaff, who for 30 years taught at area colleges and at Minneapolis schools, died on July 11 at his Minneapolis home. He was 88.

In the 1940s, he played for the Houston Symphony, then joined the Minneapolis Symphony orchestra, for which he played from 1948 to 1955.

He played in scads of groups, big bands and pop orchestras, entertaining Twin Cities residents at the Lake Harriet Bandshell and at Como Park.

He blew his horn for traveling Broadway shows and international headliners in the Twin Cities. For 60 years, he played in the summer pops series at Como Park.

"He was a wonderful player and a wonderful teacher," said Jim ten Bensel, director of the Como Pops Ensemble. "He played strong, with a very full tone at all times."

Tetzlaff won over students and colleagues with his sense of humor. Once a conductor repeatedly called for softer trumpets, and he responded, "If the composer wanted it that soft, he wouldn't have written it for a trumpet," reported Ten Bensel.

Before the war, he played gigs around the Twin Cities. He attended the University of Minnesota, graduating after the war. He got a master's degree in music from the university in 1962.

He taught at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Hamline University and Macalester College in St. Paul and the University of Minnesota from 1952 to 1966. He also taught music for the Minneapolis schools full time from 1955 to 1985.

Dr. Dan Odegaard of New Brighton, who leads the Classic Big Band, was a trumpet student of his at the University of Minnesota.

"He would listen to somebody, analyze the problems, and apply his fundamentals of teaching," he said. "He could improve the playing of anybody."

Tetzlaff taught trumpet clinics for many years in the region, and was known around the world by trumpet players for his column "Trumpet Talks" in International Musician, the journal of the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada.

He was generous, going to gigs "with anyone who would ask, whether they had a professional, amateur or school-age group," said his wife, Faye Anne, a musician. "He had an uncommon gift to discern what they needed, and did not just teach a system."

Until he took a fall 18 months ago, he was still playing with the Classic Big Band and other groups.

Jack Gillespie, a veteran musician in the Twin Cities and a former member of Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians, called Tetzlaff a "remarkable player."

"He was someone that all of us looked up to," Gillespie said. "I am amazed how well he played" into his mid-80s.

In addition to his wife of 35 years, he is survived by four sons, Rick Boniface of Brooklyn Center, Jack Boniface of Minneapolis, Toby Castle of Kimball, Minn., and David Tetzlaff of Niantic, Conn.; two daughters, Jill Glass of Minneapolis and Carrie Luedtke of St. Paul, and 10 grandchildren.