The St. Louis High School jazz students were formally invited to attend the Alma Jazz festival at Alma College, April 12.
The high school students left early in the morning to attend the festival, but they were excused through all their morning classes. There were many other bands that attended the festival, so the students got a chance to see those bands perform as well. At the end, the band packed up from their location and left the college in time for lunch and attended their afternoon classes.
Junior Rebekah Ross, main trumpet player, elaborated on the morning she spent at the college. According to Ross, “My favorite part of the festival was watching the Meridian band play after us. Listening to them play and hearing just how diverse jazz music can be is really amazing. I did run into a couple of problems playing my solo. For example, I missed a couple of notes on songs. I think that my solos went really well. Coming off of solo and ensemble, my fear was minimal. One thing that I really like about solos in a band: nothing could really go wrong when it’s your solo,” added Ross.
Pianist Rachel Jewell also shared her thoughts on her experience. She stated, “I love playing the piano more than anything. I used to love listening to other bands and picking out new songs but as a senior, my favorite part was probably playing together as a band. There are always things I could do better like playing the right notes, and staying focused. Jazz bands are supposed to be fun and memorable.” Jewell also went into detail about how she played her solo. “It wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be. I messed up the grinning and held the wrong pedal on the piano. It was so embarrassing at the moment, but talking to other people about it, they didn’t really hear many mistakes.”
The band will have their final festival April 25 at Hastings, and they will keep practicing until the time comes.
