Musical Arts Youth Orchestra jazzes up Waldron Arts Center

The Musical Arts Youth Orchestra presented a small audience of family and friends  with a night of toe-tapping jazz music on Friday at the John Waldron Arts Center.

The performance consisted of two groups of aspiring musicians whose ages ranged from 12 to 18. The musicians, who come from local middle schools and high schools, gather once a week to practice and express their love for jazz under the guidance of IU graduate student Ben Mathews.

“They have a huge range of musical interest, ranging from everything from pop music to Megadeth, but they all come together in this musical style,” Mathews said.

Many parents such as Rick Ferguson, father of drummer Logan Ferguson, were seeing their children perform for the first time with the orchestra.

“Logan just joined the group a few weeks ago,” Rick Ferguson said. “As a musician myself, I’m getting the pre-show jitters, too.”

For others in attendance, the show represented another chance to watch a great performance.

“There is a lot of focus in this group,” Sam Carpenter, father of trumpet player Scott Carpenter, said. “They are outstanding, they are hard workers, and I love seeing the boys carry on the jazz tradition.”

The two groups, called the Downstairs Group and the Upstairs Group, are named according to the floor on which they rehearse.

The first group to perform was the Downstairs Group. The six-piece band played a 20-minute, three-song set that featured instrumental renditions of songs from composers such as Miles Davis and Wes Montgomery.

Throughout the show, the musicians were given opportunities both to play as a unit and to show off their individual talents in solos.

Audience members responded with applause and multiple photos.

After a five-minute intermission, the Upstairs Group took over. The Upstairs Group was also a six-piece group that played three songs with several solos.

The show ended with the only vocal song of the night, “Wave” by Antonio Jobim, as performed by Scott Carpenter.

Performers Brandon Lee and David Quintillana said their favorite part about performing with the orchestra was meeting cool people and “loose musical interaction.”

Lee, Quintillana and Carpenter play in a rock band together called Trifecta when they are not working with the orchestra. Lee also plays mandolin with a bluegrass band and hopes to attend IU to study violin.

Mathews commented on the amount of work that goes into directing, but it is the kids, he said, who really deserve the credit.

“I am a motivator,” Mathews said. “I want these kids to do this out of their free will and not need a slave driver to tell them to do it, but I think they’ve really pulled it off.”