By: Jillian Dlouhy –
On Friday and Saturday, April 21-22, LSE jazz band students are attending the Jazz Festival in Greeley, Colorado. Jazz Ensemble I will perform, along with the Trip Jazz Band which is comprised of some students from Jazz Ensemble II and III.
Jazz band director Bob Krueger and band student-teacher Jon Halvorsen will also be going to the festival. During the festival, Jazz I and Trip Jazz will perform 30 minute sets of music that they have been working on this spring.
The Jazz Festival will last for two days and is a great opportunity for jazz students to perform complicated pieces in front of judges, listen to professionals perform, go to clinics taught by some of the clinicians at the festival, and overall to just enjoy jazz music.
For senior Jonah Kelly, this is his fourth time attending the Greeley Jazz Festival.
“I’m very excited [for the Festival]. It is really fun and educational,” said Kelly.
Kelly is the Lead Trumpet in Jazz 1 and loves every second of playing and performing trumpet. He has been lead trumpet since second semester of his freshmen year, and will study Trumpet Performance in college.
“I hope to eventually be in a professional symphony orchestra, and to have a job teaching at a college,” said Kelly.
For him, there are many great memories from the Greeley Jazz Festival and the other Jazz Festivals that he has attended.
“[The Festival] is always so fun to be at because [most] of my friends are in Jazz Band. We get to room together and it’s all just a really lucky experience for me to hang out with all my friends who are also jazz musicians and just nerd out for a few days and listen to great jazz music,” said Kelly.
Kelly loves the challenge of playing trumpet but still gets somewhat nervous before performing.
“It is always pretty nerve-racking because lead trumpet is the most exposed part in the band…The lead trumpet part is demanding physically and mentally,” said Kelly.
Kelly also believes that every student should involve themselves in music in some way, whether it was playing an instrument or something else.
“The more you learn about [music]…the more you like it; [and] there is so much to learn about music, it’s never ending…I think it is something everyone should do because it’s magical,” said Kelly.