From several percussion instruments to the saxophone to the trumpet to the trombone to the clarinet to the flute to the french horn to guitar to piano, junior Cameron Penner can play a lot of instruments.
Obviously, Cameron is better at some of these instruments than others; he plays snare drum for the FHC Drumline and is the lead alto saxophone in the jazz band. Still, the sheer amount of knowledge that goes into knowing the nuances of so many different instruments is highly impressive.
Cameron’s first involvement in playing an instrument was at a young age, which ultimately led to his future love for music, even if he didn’t realize it right away.
“[My earliest experience] with playing music [was when] I played piano in 1st through 3rd grade,” Cameron said, “and it wasn’t this big moment for me like, ‘oh my gosh, this is my thing.’ I always wanted to be really good at piano. I remember I was looking up stuff on Google like, ‘How to write a song,’ ‘How to do this,’ and ‘How to do that.’ I was really curious, but I never really progressed that well.”
While the curiosity and piqued interest attributed to his piano playing would eventually lead to more, there was another musical influence simultaneously introducing Cameron to the versatility of music: his dad and his music taste.
Cameron still loves many of the bands his dad introduced him to, most notably, Radiohead. Even now, this shared interest facilitates conversation about the band’s unique musical style.
“I’ve listened to music my whole life, with my dad [for example],” Cameron said. “A lot of my music taste is from my dad, like Radiohead. I love Radiohead so much, and the Smiths and Nirvana as well, a bunch of grunge artists. So my earliest memory of listening to music is listening to music with my dad and kind of exploring the stuff that he likes and then finding my own taste within that.”
This early exposure to music wasn’t the inciting incident that made Cameron realize how passionate he was about the subject, but it has stuck with him as an impactful aspect of his introduction to music.
Every student chose an instrument or to be in choir in sixth grade, and Cameron chose the trumpet, although that’s not his instrument of choice now. This is most students’ first experience with playing instruments, but as previously stated, Cameron had played the piano; still, until sixth grade, he had not realized his love for music.
“It wasn’t until around sixth grade, when we started playing in band, that I started understanding, ‘Hey, I really like this,’ but then COVID happened,” Cameron said. “That was a really depressing time. In eighth grade, when we came back, I wasn’t in band originally, but I hated my yearbook class so much to the point where I just had to get out, and I was like, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’ So, they told me my option was to take a music class, and I was in band [in sixth grade]. I didn’t remember how to play the trumpet that well, so I joined the percussion section.”
The decision to join band has had a lasting impact on Cameron’s life, as he names band to be such a large part of his high school life and, additionally, a main source of friendship through the years. Finding a place within school is essential and greatly makes it more enjoyable, and Cameron has found his place and his people in the band room.
“I wouldn’t be the same person without [music]. I would not have any of the friends I have without it. It has brought me so close to so many people. All of my friends are from band, or they have sparked off from band. Maybe there are a few here and there I met in classes, but I don’t know what I’m gonna do next year because of the people graduating this year. That’s how close I am to the people I met in band my freshman year when they were sophomores, and it’s going to be really hard seeing them all go. But, I just know that they’re all gonna do really great things and go to great places.”
While friendship is a benefit of band, his passion and love for music are still what have impelled Cameron to continue playing for all these years, and into the future.
Cameron hopes to go to Western Michigan University after high school, drawn in by their impressive music program, specifically, their jazz program and their marching band.
Playing music and listening to music are undeniably related. Cameron finds inspiration in the music blaring through his headphones; the two aspects of music bleed into one another as he listens to certain tracks and discerns parts of the composition.
“Listening to music gives me ideas for what I wanna play next,” Cameron said. “Last night, I was listening to Clair de Lune by [Claude Debussy]. Now, in second hour today, I looked up a PDF for the sheet music, and now I want to learn it. Listening to music sparks my ideas for everything. A lot of times, I’ll be listening to maybe some funk. Specifically, it happens a lot with Michael Jackson. I’ll think of, ‘Oh, how can I arrange this to fit in a big band style or a funk style and have an alto solo or a trumpet solo or something like that?’ My brain is just wired like that. [Listening to music] inspires me a lot. It just makes me feel so much emotion because it just speaks to me so vividly and openly. It’s really a beautiful thing.”
Using his knowledge of music theory, Cameron sees the connection between the music he listens to and his own abilities, providing influence and creative inspiration.
From being able to name an entire band’s worth of instruments he can play to discovering his hopeful future, music is Cameron’s calling; it’s part of his identity.
“High school, when I joined marching band, and I met all these new people, that’s when I was like, ‘This is my thing,’” Cameron said. “I picked up the saxophone in 8th grade, and it’s wonderful. It’s a wonderful thing. [Music] really makes me who I am because, without it, I just don’t think I would be the same person.”
