To Senior Caleb Hill the words Jazz Band mean waking up early on Mondays and Fridays to blow into a piece of metal in the hope of making nice sounds.

Jazz band meets every Monday and Friday at 7:30 a.m. to practice and learn various jazz songs and prepare for performances and events.

Hill said this year there is a lot of younger talent and enthusiasm being presented in the group.

“There are a lot of younger players this year than in last which adds a lot of new enthusiasm to the morning practices,” Hill said.

The Jazz bands first performance is when they accompany the freshman and their first concert. The members of the band are expected to learn five songs for their first concert and practice hard.

“We have a very limited amount of practice time so you have to be very disciplined in your practicing,” Hill said. “Most people bring their instruments home on the weekends to practice for events and concerts.”

This year the band conference has changed creating more practice time for major events, according to band director Steve Schmitz.

“We are in a new conference for Jazz festivals, the dates changed from December to February giving us more time to practice,” Schmitz said.

Although there is nothing planned for now, the Jazz band often performs in various competitions and out of school events.

“There have been various events that we have played at in past years, last year we were hired to play at a wedding,” Hill said.

The Jazz band is a group of dedicated people who exercise their passion of music through their playing.