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Davis Journal

Woods Cross High students attend prestigious summer music academy

Sep 02, 2022 11:41AM ● By Peri Kinder

Carter Dall and Skylar Harris are two talented musicians from Woods Cross High who were invited to spend two weeks studying at Birch Creek Music Performance Center in Wisconsin. They were two of only 40 musicians from around the country who attended the summer music academy.

The prestigious center has a mission to provide intensive, performance-based instruction to upcoming jazz musicians by immersing them in an inspiring mentoring program.

“These musicians were some of the best in their fields, some of the best jazz players,” Carter said. “We’d go warm up and they’d teach us the fundamentals. We played a lot of jazz.”

Carter, a Woods Cross resident, and Skylar from Bountiful, are both students of music director Todd Campbell at WXHS. Campbell’s brother is the program director for the jazz programs at the Birch Creek Music Performance Center and was happy to admit the two young men into the summer academy. 

Birch Creek provides a student-to-faculty ratio of 2:1 which allows instructors to spend quality time with each musician. Students are given the opportunity to refine technical skills and get to perform with professionals every day. 

Although Carter started playing the piano when he was five years old, he didn’t take music seriously until he took up the trumpet in sixth grade. 

“I’ve always wanted to play the trumpet for as long as I can remember,” he said. “I’ve had really good teachers. My band director, Mr. Campbell, he’s an amazing jazz trumpet player and I’ve learned a lot from him. And I take private lessons from Tyler Knowlton.”

At the academy, the teens played every day with a big band of 20-25 people and then rehearsed with a smaller group of around eight people. Carter said the experience was unforgettable and he hopes to take what he’s learned and lift his music to the next level.

“Spending time with the professional musicians I learned so much from them,” he said. λ