 He was selected by avant garde composer John Cage to work with him in performances and workshops when Cage became composer-in-residence at the Conservatory of Music.Tripp graduated in 1966 with a Bachelor of Music degree and in 1967, accepted a scholarship to the Manhattan School of Music in New York, primarily in order to finish a Master of Music degree, but also to expose himself further to contemporary music.His teacher was a former timpanist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Fred Hinger.