Andrew Surmani is a native of Oakland, California who now resides in Los Angeles. An accomplished musician, Andrew played trumpet in the California All-State Honor Band, the McDonald's All-American Marching Band and Jazz Band, and the Walt Disney World All-American College Jazz Band. He attended California State University, Northridge where he graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Music degree in Trumpet Performance. While at Northridge he played with the CSUN Wind Ensemble, Orchestra and Jazz "A" Band. He has toured throughout the USA, Europe and Japan, and performed at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York. After a stint playing lead trumpet in shows at Walt Disney World, Andrew returned to southern California to pursue his MBA degree and began working for Alfred Publishing Company. Andrew is currently the Vice President of Marketing and Managing Director, School and Church Publishing. He also teaches trumpet privately and is a freelance musician in the L.A. area. Andrew Surmani is co-author of Alfred's Essentials of Music Theory, along with his wife Karen Farnum Surmani, a former LA Unified School District music educator, and Morton Manus, President of Alfred Publishing Company.