Sophomore Elliot Sjaastad (He/Him), has been playing the trumpet since fifth grade. He treasures playing the trumpet and has stuck with it because it allows for a large range of tones. He has played in band during middle school for all three years, and he joined the Jazz band at the start of high school and he has plans to stick with it. Sjaastad said about the Band, “I like the band community, and I enjoy hearing the songs come together that we have been practicing.” Some advice Sjaastad gave to people looking into joining the band is to just do it! You are able to contact Randy Reid, the band director directly with any questions. Jazz Band in high school is an elective class, and you get credits for taking it. Sjaastad recommends that anyone looking to improve their trumpet playing work on their tone quality, and “getting that locked in”, as well as playing with just the mouthpiece to improve buzzing.

Senior Bridget Keel (She/Her), is another example of a student on the band. She has been playing in the band her whole high school career. Since recently, Keel plays the Flugal Horn and the piano. Her favorite part about playing in the band is that she gets to play an instrument with other people who are interested in the same stuff. She says “Getting that shared joy from music is a great thing to have and brings me much excitement! I enjoy the enthusiasm from all others in the band!”. Keels’s favorite part about the Flugal horn is how loud and melodious it is. She feels like she sits above the band while playing it. Keel also plays the trumpet. Some advice Keel would give someone who is considering joining the band is that you don’t have to be great in order to join. “Though, practice is key in order to sound cohesive and great.” Keel encourages everyone to come to the pops concert this December.
Junior Victor Valdez (He/Him) has been playing in the band since 6th grade. He plays the trombone. He enjoys playing the trombone and thinks it’s a relatively easy instrument to learn and continue to play. Valdez enjoys playing songs as a larger group, and he thinks it’s fun to hear everyone play and finds it satisfying to hear everyone improve as a group. Some advice he would give to someone who is looking to join the band is to practice the instrument you plan to play and get familiar with it. He also wants to let people know that if they want to join that band, don’t sweat it, because everyone has stuff they are working on and improving.