The BHS Jazz Band, directed by Stuart O’Neil, has tons and tons of fun activities planned for this year, but the most exciting thing O’Neil has planned is getting to perform at the state-wide KMEA conference this February.
“The selection process began last spring with me submitting a recording of our May concert,” O’Neil said. “Over the summer, a panel of judges listened to all the submissions they received, and then selected the groups they felt were the strongest. The BHS Jazz Ensemble is one of only four high school jazz bands in the state selected to perform at this year’s conference.”
O’Neil is the band director for the BHS Symphonic and Jazz Bands as well as the Junior High and Beginning Bands. O’Neil has been teaching music for 32 years, 28 years at Oskaloosa and 4 years at Baldwin.
“Music is something I enjoy and I have yet to get tired of it,” O’Neil said. “I am still fascinated by how it works and what it can do, and sharing this with others.”
Jazz Band can be very fun and everyone has a favorite thing about Jazz Band. O’Neil’s favorite thing about Jazz Band is not what you would think.
“Honestly, it’s not the performances, although I do enjoy those as well: it’s making music every day with students who really want to be there.” O’Neil said
In Jazz Band there are many different instruments that are used in the band from trumpet to saxophone which freshman Caleb Widener plays, but that is not all he can play.
“My 6th grade year I started on clarinet, my 7th grade year I switched to Alto Saxophone. Then I switched to Tenor Saxophone because he (O’Neil) needed me my 8th grade year,” Widener said.
To get into the Jazz Band an audition needs to happen. Because there are people from freshman to seniors auditioning chances of getting in could be slim, so being in Jazz Band as a freshman can be a big deal.
“It’s an opportunity that he (O’Neil) has been able to offer me,” Widener said. “It’s better that I have a stable opportunity because I was able to join them last year because they needed a tenor saxophone.”
All the memories that are made in a year are nice, but when you have 4 years of being in Jazz Band you are bound to have tons and tons of fun and exciting memories.
“My favorite memory would probably be Mr. O’Neil getting mad at us for saying sherbert instead of like sherbet,” senior Circae Hopkinson said.
All good things must come to an end, and when you’re a senior there is only so much time you have left doing all the stuff you have done for the last 4 years.
“I’m gonna miss the groovy funk to the music, getting that groove in,” Hopkinson said.
As people graduate new people have to come in to take that spot in the band, and there are always people wanting to get into the Jazz Band.
“Do it (join Jazz Band) because you will make a lot of memories that will make up most of your high school lifetime,” Hopkinson said.