Antonio Portela is likely the only graduate student from DePaul University’s School of Music who can say he survived the U.S. Marine Corps grueling 12-week basic training regimen and performed in a band for an audience that included the queen of England.

“People here are usually pretty amazed when I tell them that I was in the Marine Corps,” said Portela, who earned a Master of Music degree in trombone performance. The native of Sacramento, Calif., enlisted in the Marines right out of high school and recalls growing up in a hurry amid the rigors of the Marine Corps boot camp in San Diego.

Brisk-paced, 6-mile hikes in searing heat with a 60-pound pack on his back and a rifle slung over his shoulder were among the challenges he faced in becoming a Marine. The skills he developed in boot camp and throughout his four-year tour of duty with the Marines taught him valuable lessons not only about courage and commitment but how to manage his time and his life.

The experience laid the groundwork for his success as a double major in music performance and music education at California State University, Sacramento, and as a graduate student at DePaul, where he was a bass trombonist for the DePaul Symphony Orchestra and for the DePaul Jazz Ensemble. Time management skills are critical for graduate students who must strike a balance between practicing, rehearsing, studying and attending class.

Portela joins the staff of the School of Music upon graduation, which delights him because he can remain in Chicago where he can give private lessons and be a part of the city’s vibrant music scene.

For a week in the spring quarter, Portela traveled to the East Coast and throughout the Midwest with the jazz ensemble under the direction of guest artist Jeff Hamilton, a Grammy Award-winning drummer and composer. It was an unforgettable journey, according to Portela. “I love performing for people,” he said. “It’s wonderful getting an audience excited about a piece of music.”

When he completed his undergraduate work at Sacramento State on the GI Bill, Portela knew exactly what he wanted to do next — study at DePaul under Charlie Vernon, a bass trombonist for the renowned Chicago Symphony Orchestra since 1986. “Professor Vernon is one of the greatest trombonists in the world,” Portela said. “Combine that with the school’s and the faculty’s strong reputation, and it’s the perfect setting for graduate work.”

Portela, who first picked up the trombone in eighth grade and was immediately smitten with the instrument, successfully auditioned in high school for a coveted slot at the U.S. Armed Forces School of Music in Virginia Beach, Va. After surviving boot camp, he spent six months in the music school before he was assigned to the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany, Ga., where he became a trombonist for one of the Marine Corps 12 military bands in the United States. He was in a number of performing groups, including the concert band, jazz ensemble and brass quintet.

“It was a great job. For three and a half years, I traveled all over the country and to Canada and Scotland as a musical ambassador for the Marines,” Portela said. A highlight was performing before Queen Elizabeth II in 2002 at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the spectacular annual pageant of international military bands on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle.

“Not only was it an honor to have the queen in the audience, but it was an honor to be a member of the only band representing the United States.”

Written by Edmund Lawler