Three Boardman students are among 17 in state chosen for musical performance
BOARDMAN
Of 17 musicians from around the state who this weekend will regale an audience at a downtown Cincinnati convention center with a jazz performance, three are Boardman High School students.
Anthony Bruno, James Harker and Michael Mitchum, all seniors, were selected to play in the Ohio Music Education Association’s All-State Jazz Ensemble, which convenes Thursday for two rigorous days of practice before performing Saturday for thousands at the Duke Energy Convention Center. The ensemble features five saxophones, four trombones, four or five trumpets, and one each of a guitar, piano, bass and drums.
Bruno plays the baritone sax; Harker plays alto sax; and Mitchum plays trumpet. They went through a blind audition process in which they had to submit audio recordings of themselves, and then got music to practice on their own after being notified of their selection.
During rehearsal at the high school last week, the trio expressed nervousness, excitement and gratitude.
“It’s definitely nerve-racking,” acknowledged Harker, who is playing in the state ensemble for the third time. This is the first time he’ll be going with fellow Boardman students, which he said puts him more at ease.
His favorite aspect of the experience, he said, is the chance to work with other talented musicians, especially the directors who are brought in. The conductor this year is Jeff Rupert, director of jazz studies at the University of Central Florida.
“It’s just a really cool experience to work with directors like that and get to know people who do what we do,” Harker said.
Music is something he’s been doing since the third grade, when he started playing saxophone under the tutelage of his dad, also a sax player.
Mitchum and Bruno also started playing at a young age – both picked up instruments in fifth grade.
All three plan for music to be part of their post-high-school futures, they said, including getting involved with music programs in college. Harker wants to study music technology at Capitol University or Berklee College of Music, and Mitchum wants to study music education and jazz performance at the University of Cincinnati.
They said it speaks volumes of Boardman’s music program and band director Thomas Ruggieri that three Boardman students made it into the selective state ensemble.
“There’s definitely something special going on here,” Mitchum said. “It makes me feel like we really deserve to be in it, like our musicianship has reached the high school peak.”
“Without him and his directing and teaching, I definitely wouldn’t be where I’m at today,” he said of Ruggieri. At a rehearsal with the high school jazz ensemble Thursday, Ruggieri animatedly directed his students during an up-tempo, joyous number, telling one musician to “be natural” and another to “get down and dirty with it.”
Ruggieri expressed pride in his students in a news release, noting the distinction of three students in any field, be it athletics or the arts, being recognized as the best in the state.
“The momentum of Boardman’s jazz program is likely to inspire other students to practice harder and strive to hit the very best notes,” he said.