By Barrett Roberson.

Junior Cole Elders and sophomore Brady Lambert performed in the Region 6 All-Region Jazz Clinic and Concert at Wylie High School on Feb. 24.

“It was very fun, definitely challenging,” Lambert said. “In the room, there are speakers, and you don’t wear a headset whenever you’re playing. So, I had to figure out how to hear the metronome while playing the drum set that is so loud.”

Even though the concert was in late February, the students had to prepare for it much sooner.

“On the first day of school we were handed three different etudes, just short snippets of music we had to learn, along with a little improv track we had to improvise a solo to,” Elders said. “We had the audition process at Cooper back when school started in August.”

The six-month wait wasn’t for nothing. Every year there is a big name to be the clinician and to conduct, Elders said. Their conductor and clinician this year was Stephen Cox, winner of the Grammy Music Educator Award in 2022.

“I loved all the people and our director,” Lambert said. “They were all awesome, it was so much fun.”

Lambert played drum set and percussion while Elders played lead guitar, a new experience for him.

“This first time I made it with only guitar,” Elders said. “I usually play the saxophone for this, but I’ve been playing guitar and I finally got it. I kind of just shut off from the world for a little bit learn guitar just came back.”

Different from the regular pieces played in band, jazz gives the students and directors a chance to branch out.

“I really like the freedom of jazz band,” percussion and jazz band director Juan Montoya said. “We get to play a lot of different styles and cultures. We incorporate our own and make a whole new set of music to it.”

While the freedom can be the best part of the experience, it can also lead to the greatest challenges, Montoya said.

“It’s the getting out of your own shell that can be the most difficult for the students,” Montoya said. “A lot of kids don’t start jazz band until they get to high school. We’ve taught them to be one way in the regular band process, and now it’s ‘forget all the rules’ here. Get some freedom under yourself.”

Montoya has hopes that this experience for these students will inspire others to look into the region process.

“Region is a great thing to be part of the kids get to work under a really great clinician,” Montoya said. “I’m hoping that with two of our students who made it and loved it, that it will encourage more of our students to also participate.”