Andrew Johnson, a soon-to-be senior at Paola High School, will perform with the Kansas Masonic All-State High School Marching Band at the East-West Shrine Bowl game July 26. (Photo by Catherine Odson / catherineodson@miconews.com)
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Johnson blasts his way to all-state honors
Senior chosen for 2008 Kansas Masonic Band
By Catherine Odson, catherineodson@miconews.com
Music is more than the black and white on the page, Paola 17-year-old Andrew Johnson says, paraphrasing composer David Holsinger.
It’s also about red — the part of music that comes from the heart, he says.
“A lot of time playing’s not about doing what’s on the page,” Andrew says. “It’s about doing something extra.”
A big part of getting that something extra is working with others, Andrew said.
He will have plenty of opportunities to do that next week. Andrew will take the field with more than 200 other students from across the state for performances at the Kansas East-West Shrine Bowl football game July 26 in Emporia.
The students comprise the 25th-annual Kansas Masonic All-State High School Marching Band and take part in a five-day camp to prepare for the performance.
Johnson first picked up a trumpet in fourth-grade when his brother was starting, but his interest goes back even further.
Johnson’s father played the trumpet in high school, and his grandfather played it in a band. Andrew even played his father’s trumpet for a while.
He now studies with Steve Leisring, associate professor of trumpet at the University of Kansas.
Earlier this summer, Andrew attended the Senior High Music Institute and the Jazz Workshop at KU’s Midwestern Music Camp.
For the Masonic band, he has two packets of music to learn, including “The Contender,” which PHS used in its halftime show last year, he said.
“You just have to learn all of it, but I usually push to memorize all of it,” Andrew said.
During the school year, Andrew practices an hour or more each day. It’s less during the summer, he said, except during music camps. He also taught lessons to one sixth-grader last year and hopes to teach more in the coming year.
Andrew also plays around on guitar, and at times, he has tried to play the alto saxophone, normally before PHS basketball games.
“I didn’t take the time to try to learn anything else,” he said.
Johnson will be a senior at Paola High School in the fall. He plans to go to the University of Kansas or another college in the state and study music.
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It’s also about red — the part of music that comes from the heart, he says.
“A lot of time playing’s not about doing what’s on the page,” Andrew says. “It’s about doing something extra.”
A big part of getting that something extra is working with others, Andrew said.
He will have plenty of opportunities to do that next week. Andrew will take the field with more than 200 other students from across the state for performances at the Kansas East-West Shrine Bowl football game July 26 in Emporia.
The students comprise the 25th-annual Kansas Masonic All-State High School Marching Band and take part in a five-day camp to prepare for the performance.
Johnson first picked up a trumpet in fourth-grade when his brother was starting, but his interest goes back even further.
Johnson’s father played the trumpet in high school, and his grandfather played it in a band. Andrew even played his father’s trumpet for a while.
He now studies with Steve Leisring, associate professor of trumpet at the University of Kansas.
Earlier this summer, Andrew attended the Senior High Music Institute and the Jazz Workshop at KU’s Midwestern Music Camp.
For the Masonic band, he has two packets of music to learn, including “The Contender,” which PHS used in its halftime show last year, he said.
“You just have to learn all of it, but I usually push to memorize all of it,” Andrew said.
During the school year, Andrew practices an hour or more each day. It’s less during the summer, he said, except during music camps. He also taught lessons to one sixth-grader last year and hopes to teach more in the coming year.
Andrew also plays around on guitar, and at times, he has tried to play the alto saxophone, normally before PHS basketball games.
“I didn’t take the time to try to learn anything else,” he said.
Johnson will be a senior at Paola High School in the fall. He plans to go to the University of Kansas or another college in the state and study music.