Upcoming musical events involving San Luis Obispo High School students. Photo collage courtesy of junior Ava Rhodes.
San Luis Obispo High School contains multitudes of talented musicians, whether they be choir students, band members, or founders of their own groups. Expressions interviewed two students involved in various music programs, to learn why they got involved in the first place and their favorite aspects of their programs.
Expressions: How old were you when you first got involved in music?
Senior and choir student Jessie Cross: I was about nine or ten when I got into music, at the end of elementary school. I remember my first choir class sang a song from Oliver, “Food Glorious Food,” and I did it with my siblings.
Junior and band member Mason Horstman: I started playing drums when I was eleven years old, then began playing bass two years later.
Expressions: Can you remember why you became interested in music in the first place?
Cross: In sixth grade, I remember seeing the choir up on stage during an assembly and I knew that I wanted to be up there joining everyone else in something so special. I joined a month later.
Horstman: I had been interested in playing music for a while, and one day a friend’s mom heard me playing a hand drum alongside my friend, who was playing piano. She noticed that I had a good sense of time and seemed to like drumming, so she suggested I take some lessons.
Expressions: What are your favorite aspects of being involved in a musical group?
Cross: Being involved in a musical group is so great because the music we get to sing is so inspiring. The origin for where all music and specifically choral music comes from speaks very closely to me and it’s awesome that, as a class, we get to show everyone else and bring it out.
Horstman: This sounds kind of corny, but playing music lets you be someone you don’t normally get to be. When I’m sitting behind my kit with Ultraviolets I get to be loud and aggressive; I can make sounds that mean something to me without necessarily spelling out exactly what I’m thinking about (especially as a drummer).
Expressions: Do you have a favorite memory from your time in your music program ?
Cross: A favorite memory for me is during sophomore year when I joined chamber for the first time. It showed me how meaningful and beautiful choral music is. I’m very thankful for that opportunity.
Horstman: At a recent gig, I hopped on vocals for a cover of a cool, kind of punky song. The chorus has everyone singing the melody, so I taught the crowd what to do and hoped for the best. As soon as the chorus hit, I had a whole room full of people chanting alongside me. My bassist got crowd surfed, I got to hop around in the mosh pit, and it was really something special to have a whole room so amped up and to feel like I had that community to back me. Definitely going to make that a tradition for future shows.
Expressions: Do you plan on pursuing music after high school, either as a career or a hobby?
Cross: After high school, I plan to continue music for fun. I enjoyed the high school experience and it’s great if someone else chooses to use it as a career or passion. I’ll mostly be partaking in piano, but choirs at many colleges can be a great way to stay involved.
Horstman: Right now I play bass in the DOM jazz quartet as a job just gigging local wineries and restaurants, so I’m definitely going to try to keep playing more professional gigs like that through college for some side cash. As far as more alternative projects I’m involved in go, I hope I always have some sort of musical outlet to keep me sane. Maybe Ultraviolets will get big and I’ll stick with that, or maybe (far more likely) I’ll end up somewhere else with a real job. Either way, I can’t imagine my life without music, and I’m excited to see where it takes me.
Music is an incredibly valuable pursuit, and the talented students involved in it deserve recognition for the hard work they put in. If you’d like to see these students and their peers show off their talents, attend the choir concert today or the DOM Jazz Quartet’s next gig on April 5!
