Artist of The Week: Henry Revare

On Jan 12, junior Henry Revare was nominated to perform in the Kansas State jazz band playing in the trumpet section.

Revare auditioned on Jan 8. alongside many contestants from across the state, competing for a spot to play amongst the other top student musicians in Kansas. The following Wednesday he found out he had made the district jazz band.

In the future, Revare would like to continue playing music in college. He enjoys being a part of the East band community, as well as the congratulations and support he has received since finding out he was going to a state band.

What instrument do you play and why?

“I play trumpet, because I chose that in fifth grade, and it’s fun, bright [and] brassy. My older brother at the time played trombone, or he did for a while, so I thought I’d play on a brass instrument.”

Have you gone to state before and what’s the process like?

“Yeah, we had auditions a couple weeks ago. All the district band members from SMSD, we’d go on a bus and go to the auditions which were somewhere else in Kansas and we would audition with everyone else from the state. It would all be in one place and audition for the same thing. And there are a couple different bands. There’s the orchestra, I think there’s two other just normal classical bands and then they have the jazz bands, and that’s the one I got into.”

What is the East band environment like?

“I love the East band environment. It’s super welcoming to basically everyone and one thing that’s great is that you can come from any background and really do anything you want at the band, and still accept everyone and it doesn’t have to be your main interest. It can be, but you can also do other clubs.”

How did you prepare for your state audition?

“Well, the jazz music we have [includes] three etudes that we practiced and then a little chromatic scale and soloing or improvising. And so basically, when we go in there we just play the three pieces and improvise, and we leave. After everyone goes through, they pick I think five.”

Do you have a favorite piece to play?

“Probably the third etude just because I’ve worked on it the most.”

Do you plan on continuing after high school?

“I do. I’d like to do trumpet and maybe other instruments, if I could, in college, at least do something music related like that.”

Do you have any specific performances that stick out to you?

“During the audition, the second piece was a lot faster than I thought it was gonna be. So I wasn’t super prepared for that, but it worked out. Usually you have time to prepare for all of the pieces. And if you do, if you can prepare super well, then you’ll be pretty well off.”

How are you preparing for the state performance?

“I’m more nervous than excited because the music’s hard. And it’s like, not only is the music hard, but I’m gonna be playing with people that are the best in the state. So it’s gonna be super nerve-wracking. But, I am excited, and that’ll make it better.”

What does your practice consist of?

“A lot of it for me is just fundamentals, making good sound. But when it comes to learning a piece, you want to learn it one section at a time and [go] super slowly.”