A lot has changed in one year for Agustin David.
The Grade 12 student has been on a musical journey that started hammering away on a drum kit in his basement, and continues at the Prince Albert Youth Jazz Band Open House on Wednesday.
“This year has been crazy for me,” said David, who will graduate from Carlton Comprehensive Public High School this spring. “My life has changed so much, part of it because of this band.”
David became interested in drums while taking music classes at school. He enjoyed it so much he saved his money and bought his own drum kit.
He spent last summer in his basement, tapping away at the drums trying to keep time with songs he listened to. However, it wasn’t until he joined the Prince Albert Youth Jazz Band that things really changed.
“Joining this band was a really humbling experience, to be fair, at the start,” he said with a smile. “I couldn’t keep up with anything.”
Now, David is part of a growing and confident ensemble that’s played multiple concerts and festivals over the past year, the most recent being the inaugural Prince Albert Big Band Festival.
Although this is David’s last year with the group, he said they have a solid foundation.
“I lot of the players are young and they’re going to stay. They’re just awesome players. I would love to see them grow.”
David and the rest of his bandmates will put their musical talents on display at the June 10 Open House. Band director and founder Scott Roos said it’s been encouraging to see David and the rest of the group grow.
“I have 12 year olds in this band and they’re playing stuff that Grade 12s would normally play,” he said. “I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that we have really great mentorship. It’s not necessarily ‘hey, I’m going to take you under my wing and be your buddy.’ It’s more like where the older (players) are like, ‘this is what it’s supposed to sound like.’”
Roos has high expectations for the group. Wednesday’s performance will include more difficult fair that younger Grade 7 and 8 players wouldn’t normally tackle.
Roos said the young band has embraced the challenge.
“It’s all about having that positive mentality and not looking at a piece of music and saying ‘oh, this is too hard. This is impossible,’” he explained. “It’s just not even telling the kids how hard it is, and being like, ‘okay, we’re going to try to play this,’ and they do.”
The jump in quality means the focus has changed too. Gone are the days when Roos expected people to show up just to support the kids. He said the band has advanced to the point where they can easily hold and entertain an audience.
“I think they (Open House attendees) are going to see a band that’s come into its own—that’s firing on all cylinders,” Roos said. “I think the key thing is we’re not just here to play music. Obviously, that’s an important component, but we’re also here to entertain. We’re here to put on an actual show.
“We’re really working on it being a solid evening of entertainment that people will come and enjoy—not because it’s a bunch of kids playing, but because it’s legitimately fun to watch. That’s the evolution of the band.”
The Prince Albert Youth Jazz Band Open House begins at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 10 at Vincent Massey School.
@kerr_jas • jason.kerr@paherald.sk.ca
