All-State Band trumpets HHS
freshman musician Jenny Boyar
By:Minx McCloud
She may not be mistaken for Louis Armstrong yet, but 15-year-old Jenny Boyar tasted a bit of musical fame when she recently played her trumpet in the New Jersey All-State Band, sponsored by the New Jersey Music Educators Association.
The Hillsborough High School freshman spent Feb. 22-24 at the Brunswick Hilton-Towers in East Brunswick, where she met and rehearsed with her peers New Jersey’s finest high school musicians. The weekend culminated in a Saturday evening performance at the Nicholas Music Center at Rutgers University.
A former student of Triangle Elementary School, Jenny began playing trumpet during the summer before she entered fifth grade. Originally, she was going to follow in the footsteps of her brother, Simon, 20, who plays percussion, but she changed her mind.
"I wanted to be original because not very many other girls play the trumpet," she said.
Jenny is a member of the high school jazz ensemble, wind ensemble and marching band, and when school is session, practice can keep her very busy.
"Most of it is during school, but marching band season is busy," she said. "We play at games and have competitions, too."
On top of that, she’s a member of the swim team and a member of the youth group at Temple Beth-El in Hillsborough.
In fact, at Temple Beth-El, she adds to her musical experience by blowing the shofar (ram’s horn) during the High Holy Days, which she has done for two years.
Fortunately, she doesn’t get as nervous when she plays in a large group.
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‘Just the fact that I was able to audition made me really happy. It was such an honor’ Jenny Boyar |
Jenny knew about the All-State Band, sponsored by the New Jersey Music Educators Association (NJMEA). Her brother had been in it and she "just heard it was a really cool thing to do."
Her first step was to audition for the Region Band, which, she said, any high school student can go out for. To be in All-State, you have to earn one of the top seats in Region Band, and Jenny was in the top seven in her category.
This qualified her to audition for All-State, which would be broken down into two groups the band and the woodwind ensemble.
"I really wasn’t expecting that," Jenny said. "I didn’t think I had placed high enough. Just the fact that I was able to audition made me really happy. It was such an honor."
She auditioned with 60 other trumpet players and was named seventh trumpet (out of about 15) chosen. She ended up in the All-State Band.
"I thought my audition was pretty good, considering I’m a bad auditioner," she said. "I get very nervous. I was hoping I had made it, but I didn’t really expect to make it as a freshman. There are only about four in the whole band."
During the performance Feb. 24 at Nicholas Music Center, each group strutted its stuff. It was the first time they had performed together, although rehearsals had been rigorous during the two days leading up to the concert.
"Rehearsals were really hard because they were so long. They lasted all day. I didn’t like that part."
However, the students who were chosen for All-State had received their music ahead of time, so they had practiced the pieces before they met on Feb. 22. When they rehearsed together for the first time, Jenny was happy with the results. Her social interaction with the other musicians was also a pleasant experience.
"I was scared and intimidated at first, because nobody else from my school got in," she said. "but everyone was so friendly. They’d just walk up and talk to you. My three roommates were a sophomore, a junior and a senior, and they were so nice. They treated me like I was the same age as them."
Jenny was also impressed with her conductor, Richard Blatti, who, during the course of rehearsals gave them instructions to enhance their playing.
"He taught us so well," she said. "One thing he told us to do was to sit in different parts of the room to hear other instruments. It really helped."
Jenny credits her high school band director, Jules Haran, with a lot of her success.
"She was really helpful with the All-State thing," she said. "She listened to me play all the time. I really couldn’t have done this without the help of my family, my band teacher, and my private lessons teacher, David Michalewsky. He’s a really excellent teacher."
As for the future, Jenny has decided she just may make music her career.
"I’d like to go to Juilliard, and I may want to be a music teacher," she said. "I play the clarinet, but I’m not too good at it yet, and I’ve tried piano a couple of times. If I work hard at learning them, I think I could be good."
If her performance with All-State is any indication, she’s probably right.