Mustang jazz band musicians perform at the highest levels
Mustang musicians and seniors Dylan Griffin (left) and Maksim Solovyev were amongst the highest-performing jazz musicians in the state, earning spots on the all-region jazz band. Staff photo by Caden Senn
Two Marble Falls High School musicians recently earned spots on the Association of Texas Small School Bands All-Region Jazz Band, with one advancing to the next phase of competition. Both students, who will graduate next year, hope their accomplishments will inspire the next generation of musicians.
Trumpet player Maksim Solovyev placed fourth overall in the contest, and trombone player Dylan Griffin placed second overall. Griffin’s second-place finish earned him the opportunity to advance to the area contest, where he will vie for a seat on the all-state jazz band.
The all-region jazz process pits musicians from across the state against each other through solo auditions of musical excerpts in front of a blind panel of five judges. Musicians who earn the highest scores earn seats on the all-region jazz band, and a select few advance to the area level for a chance to place on the all-state jazz band.
For Solovyev (who also happens to be one of five students that joined DailyTrib in January for career day), his foray into the all-region process this year was fueled by a longstanding connection with his older sister.
“My sister was in band–she’s older than me,” he told DailyTrib. “She played the trumpet too, and I learned that there were so many versatile things you could do with it. So I just wanted to explore that more, and in the jazz world trumpets are so important. It was a sort of rite of passage for me to follow my sister.”
Griffin told DailyTrib that his passion for music and jazz sprouted in elementary school.
“The reason I got into playing the trombone in the first place was the jazz band coming to the elementary school and playing Christmas music,” he said. “I just wanted to pass on that joy.”
Both seniors, Solovyev and Griffin, hope to leave behind a positive legacy for future musicians.
“It’s my last year in band,” Griffin said. “I’m happy to have seen all the seniors before me who have accomplished so much, and to now be one of the seniors to leave behind a legacy for this new generation of musicians. It was a really fun time for me.”
“It feels like a full circle moment for me,” Solovyev said. “I just hope that these sort of achievements will inspire more people to do the same thing I did, so I can make the same impact that somebody else made on me.”