Passion to Play: Robinson linebacker Tyler Hill is a trumpet star

ROBINSON, Texas (KWTX) - On Friday nights, Robinson senior Tyler Hill is a mean middle linebacker, one of the Rocket’s leading tacklers.

Every other day of the week, Tyler is a special musical talent.

“There’s not many like him,” said Robinson band director Wylie Gore. “He’s one of those kids that very rarely comes through in your career and you kind of know this one’s going to be special. He has just exceeded all of those expectations.

Though you may not think it at first glance, Tyler Hill is one of the best trumpet players in the state of Texas.

“I think it kind of goes against the stigma of band versus football, with football being the cool kids and then band being the nerdy kids,” said Hill. “I’ve always been so against that.”

As a junior, Tyler earned first chair trumpet at the Texas All-State Jazz Ensemble for small schools. It was at that competition where the future of his career as a trumpet player became clear.

“The clinician that (Tyler) had talked about was raving about him at the concert,” said Gore. “And he said he’s never met a kid quite like this.”

That clinician mentioned by Gore happened to be world renowned trombocalist Ron Wilkins.

“When I first got to hear them play, I heard Tyler playing on the lead trumpet book,” said Wilkins. “I just kind of sat back and went ‘Woah, this guy’s for real.’”

“(Ron) told me, well he told my parents, that I needed to apply for Juilliard.” said Hill.

Today, Hill is preparing his audition tape to play trumpet at The Juilliard School of Music in New York City.

“Maybe three to five percent of applicants from all over the world get in,” said Wilkins. “He has a shot, he has a legitimate shot of getting in. And if he gets in, he can write his own ticket.”

Alongside Julliard, University of North Texas and other prestigious music programs, Hill is also considering enlisting in the United States Marine Band. Wherever he ends up, Hill is bound for stardom, with a passion to play.

“I could see within five to 10 years, he could be playing with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra led by Wynton Marsalis in New York City,” said Wilkins. “I could see him touring with world renowned artists. Michael Buble, Shakira, he could be playing in the horn section for Beyonce. He could actually be doing those kinds of things with those level of artists.”

“He’ll be a rock star, there’s no question about that,” said Gore. “Right now, the question is, what avenue is he gonna take? Is he going to go to Julliard? Is he going to maybe go to UNT? Is he going to do a service band? He will be famous one day.”

“It is my passion,” said Hill. “I mean, I wasn’t always the best trumpet player and I started practicing. I feel like I’ve had pretty good success where I’m at. And you can do both. You can do football, you can do band, as long as you put your mind to it.”

Music auditions for prospective Julliard students will begin in February of 2026.

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