These images were featured in the book curated by Amanda Chestnut, the Co-Creator behind In This Moment to spotlight Herb Smith, the 3rd trumpter in the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.

In This Moment unveils, amplifies, and preserves the stories of contemporary Black leaders from across the Rochester area. We provide educational resources that restore and repair historic narratives that would have been lost to time. With independently published free chapbooks, ITM shares community leaders’ stories, images, and life’s dedication to uplifting our communities.

In our many conversations, Herb Smith talks about being the only Black musician in the RPO as well as one of very few Black professors at the Eastman School of Music, the backlash he received after criticizing a local bar's dress code that was specifically targeting young Black men, access to music programs for Black youth, and sounding the alarm at the Eastman School of Music to fight for racial equity. In This Moment was a response to the Black Lives Matter movement and I wanted to show both Herb's frustration with the lack of progress from our institutions as well as him being one of the many faces of this renaissance for Black artists with a platform.