Stage or street corner, Mark Nicholson doesn't care where he plays his trumpet. As long as there are people to listen

PHILADELPHIA -- Every day on the well-worn steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphians and tourists alike take their turns pretending to be Rocky. But if you make the climb on the right afternoon, Mark Nicholson can make you feel like you really are the champ.

Off to the side, Nicholson sets up his speakers and displays a championship belt that holds muscled portraits of Balboa, Creed, Drago and Lang. Then, he pulls out one of the 10 trumpets he owns, and starts to play. “Gonna Fly Now” and “Eye of the Tiger” give some runners an extra boost, but mostly just make families smile when they recognize the songs.

Nicholson, 47, is a professional musician; he plays the trumpet with bands and in other gigs across the Philadelphia area. But he loves just as much to set up in public and playing for whoever may be walking by, like at the Art Museum steps, or on a South Philly street corner before an Eagles game.

“I would play if I got negative 5 dollars, if I got a million dollars. It’s just a part of me,” he said.

“I believe this is who I am. I believe this is my purpose.”

The Music Man

Nicholson was born in Detroit and grew up more passionate about sports than he was about music.

He learned how to play the trumpet from his father, who was also his high school band teacher. Even though Nicholson wasn’t particularly dedicated to music, he kept playing to please his father.

“He always used to tell me, you need to learn your instrument,” he said.

When he went off to college at Michigan State, Nicholson dreamed of walking onto the school’s basketball team. He tried out and didn’t make it. But his father encouraged him to audition for the school’s band, and Nicholson got in, even though he saw music as little more than a hobby at that point.

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