Tyrone students Cole Hunter and Cliff Wilson represented Tyrone Area High School in the PMEA District 6 Jazz Festival on January 16th and performed in concert on the 17th.

Both musicians had a folder of music to learn and perform for their audition, Hunter on the drum set and Wilson on the piano. They were then chosen to perform in a concert with students from school across the region.

“Playing with other students I haven’t met before is a fun experience. It helps me grow as a player because allows me to feel more comfortable playing with anyone for the first time,” said Hunter.

Playing in an ensemble without previous chemistry can be challenging, but these two have proven that it is possible to do and good for your musical growth.

“Playing with students who I haven’t met or played with before was interesting, but jazz is so versatile and improvisational that we were able to lock in and play some good music pretty quickly. This can definitely be good for any musician trying to level up their skills because you learn a lot being around different musicians,” said Wilson.

This year was Wilson’s second year participating in the District Jazz Festival.

“I like district jazz because while at Tyrone I’d consider myself one of the top musicians, at districts I’m with a whole band of top-level musicians and I learned a lot because of that new environment,” said Wilson.

As a senior, this is Hunter’s third and final time participating in the district jazz festival.

“What made the festival special to me was when the director gave us a song the day we arrived, leaving us only a day and a half to learn it. This challenged me to listen for cues more closely. I’ll miss gathering to play music with people I barely know,” said Hunter.