BAY VILLAGE, Ohio — A high school senior trumpet player from Bay Village has made the 2023 Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA) all-state jazz ensemble for the second year in a row.
Adam Ward, a senior at Bay High School in northeast Ohio, has a few hobbies. Playing the piano, hiking and studying Japanese are just a few, but one of his favorite hobbies is playing the trumpet, something he started doing when he was about 10-years-old.
“I just love making, one making music for others and two being in the community of music,” Ward said. “Everyone playing music around me is so talented. And it's so inspiring.”
It’s a hobby turned passion because he said music is an escape.
“It brings me to a really good place,” Ward said. “And it calms me down. It gets me excited.”
Ward’s in the marching band, symphonic band, jazz band and pit orchestra and some days is practicing before, during and even after school. He’s also in the Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony, a group that meets every Saturday and is performing in Scotland and England next summer.
Those long hours of practice are paying off. This year he’s been selected for the 2023 Ohio Music Education Association’s All-State Jazz Ensemble. Only four to five trumpet players from Ohio win a spot each year, and this is his second year being selected.
“I'm really happy, I'm like amazed astonish it's, it's so many feelings all at once,” Ward said. “It's such an amazing opportunity for me, and I'm really happy.”
To make this ensemble, students audition alongside top high school musicians from all over the state, which brings together the best of the best to perform at the OMEA’s conference in Feb. 2023.
“It's impressive and, you know, a testament to his hard work,” said Darren Allen, the band director at Bay High School.
Achievements like this are something band directors like Allen strive for.
“It’s why I do it, right?" Allen said. "I mean, you know, it's just great to see that these kids, you know, given the right opportunities, can just, you know, shine. And Adam certainly does that."
To Ward, music is something that brings him joy, and he said he plays hoping to give the same joy to others.
“I'm so excited to perform for others," he said. "I hope members like younger audience members that day look at us playing and they're like, wow, that's something I want to do. Because that's the same experience I had when I watched jazz bands and bands as a kid. I was like, that's what I want to do. So I really hope we're able to provide a good like inspiration for others.”
The All-State Jazz Ensemble will rehearse in January, and then play a concert at the Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA) Convention, which takes place in Columbus, from Feb. 2 to 4, 2023.
All performances are free to the public. For more information, click here.