Known as the SDCC Trumpet guy, the classically-trained musician lets his geek flag fly by playing some of the most iconic music for fans at the international convention.
What do you do when you’re a nerdy, classically trained trumpeter and don’t want to cosplay at Comic-Con International? You use your talents and play iconic scores from video game and film franchise for con-goers.
“I decided I would follow cosplayers around and play their theme songs,” said Mark Grisez of Miami Beach, Florida. The 25-year-old just wrapped up his second season for the New World Symphony in Miami and was previously the associate principal trumpet for the San Francisco Symphony.
He started playing his trumpet at the San Diego convention in 2016.
“That first year I was nervous because I wasn’t sure how people would react,” he said. “But as people started liking it, I kept doing it more and more.”
On Thursday, he received thunderous applause as he played the “Throne Room March” from Star Wars as he descended one of the convention center escalators. Later that same day, fans cheered as he belted out the theme for the “Overwatch” video game at an Overwatch panel.
As Grisez walked the floor, he found a cosplayer dressed as Indiana Jones and followed him around while playing the immediately recognizable score from the movie franchise. The trained musician then played the “Imperial March” for someone dressed as Darth Vader.
“This is something that has been a lot of fun and I hope to keep doing it,” Grisez said.
