Alumnus Ray Vipond brings talent and humility to his music
A major influence on HFC alumnus Ray Vipond (“VYE-pond”) was the late Rick L. Goward, the music instructor who was one of the key architects of HFC’s Music department.
Goward, an inspiration to many students and community throughout the decades, would tour local high schools with his music students and perform, encouraging high school students interested in music that HFC was a great option.
“The location of the College was nice, as I went to Edsel Ford High School,” said Vipond. “The Symphony Band was a very large group and had a heavy recruiting presence in Dearborn.”
During spring 2025, Vipond performed his solo, “Theme in Variations for Trumpet in B♭-Minor,” which he composed, at the “Whales, Raptors, and Ray” concert. He quipped he was channeling his inner Antonín Dvořák.
“This was its public debut. I composed it in 2014,” he recalled. “I was nervous about its reception. I’m not classically trained and wasn’t sure if the reception was going to be positive, but I pulled it off. My music instructors at HFC were confident in its validity. When I was writing it, I was heavily into Dvořák. There was a lot of his music-writing style in my head.”
Music is his part-time secondary career
A lifelong Dearborn resident and the youngest of two, Vipond has been married to JayAnn since 2011. Together, they have two children: Morgan, 13, and Miles, 11.
An alumnus of Edsel Ford, Vipond earned his associate degree in music from HFC. Transferring to Wayne State University, he earned his bachelor’s degree in communications. He also completed a semester at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.
Since 2017, Vipond has been a remote software quality analyst for Werner Enterprises, Inc. in Nebraska. He also performs for:
- The HFC Big Band
- The HFC Metropolitan Symphony Band
- The Royal Oak Symphony Orchestra
"It is difficult to make a comfortable living as a performing musician, so I'm grateful that I have a career in software that allows me to perform music as a part time job as well as perform with the College,” he said.
Lisa Simpson (yes, the cartoon character) prevented him from playing the sax
Vipond took up music when he was a 5th-grader at Whitmore-Bolles Elementary School. He had to pick one of two instruments and was debating the trumpet vs. the saxophone. Playing the saxophone was immensely popular at the time because it was Lisa Simpson’s instrument of choice on The Simpsons, the long-running animated sitcom.
“Nearly everybody wanted to play the sax like Lisa Simpson. So, my teacher had to make some command decisions, and I ended up with the trumpet,” recalled Vipond, laughing.
Paying it back and forward at the same time
Vipond volunteers his time at HFC, recruiting new members for the Symphony Band.
“I’m doing what Rick did,” he said. “I want to pay him back for all the things he did for me when I was a student. I also want to pay it forward by bringing new students into the HFC Music department.”
Retired HFC music maestro G. Kevin Dewey and HFC Director of Music Anthony J. Lai have performed alongside Vipond many times.
“Ray Vipond takes his studies and his musical art as seriously as any young professional I have ever met,” said Dewey. “His talent for focusing on his goals was apparent as a student, and also now as he embarks on his own career path.”
Added Lai: “Ray might be the definition of talent with humility. The comic stereotype of the trumpet player is one of arrogance, so to have such humble, even a self-deprecating sense of humor, paired with such ambition and talent, is a gift to the College. He knows when to give or take the spotlight, he knows when to lead and when to be led. It’s no surprise to me that over the time I’ve known him he’s picked up gigs like the Big Band and Royal Oak Symphony Orchestra – and his success story is just beginning.”
