Longtime Symphony of Southeast Texas trumpeter Mike Westbrook has died from COVID-19

“Longtime Southeast Texas band director Mike Westbrook has died after contracting COVID-19,” reports Tyler Seggerman in Thursday’s (3/26) 12NewsNow.com (Beaumont, Texas). “Westbrook was also a member of the Symphony of Southeast Texas. The organization posted on their Facebook page that Westbrook, a member of the trumpet section for over 30 years, passed away. ‘My heart has just been broken and saddened all afternoon,’ Chelsea Tipton, Symphony of Southeast Texas music director, told 12News. ‘We have that common bond of art and music. When we lose one, it affects all of us deeply.’ … Hardin-Jefferson High School remembered Westbrook … in a lengthy tweet Thursday afternoon. ‘Mike … had worked tirelessly to revive our music program at HJ and had accomplished much success on the field and stage.’ … Westbrook has worked for Lumberton, Port Neches-Groves and Hardin-Jefferson school districts…. Hardin-Jefferson said that Westbrook was last on the high school campus on March 20…. [and that] they are cooperating with the local health department and assisting in identifying any individuals who may have come into contact with [Westbrook] in recent days. ‘Those individuals will be notified so that they can take the necessary precautions for the health and safety of themselves and their families.’ ”