Young musicians in Davis County have ample opportunity to improve their ability and collaborate with fellow musicians. The Davis Jazz Messengers, the Davis Youth Philharmonic and the Davis Youth Symphony provide students with challenging music experiences to help them reach a higher level of performance. 

Todd Campbell serves as the director of bands at Woods Cross High School and conducts the Davis Jazz Messengers. He and co-director Chad King give students an education in jazz performance which is unlike other forms of music.

“Jazz is a different style with more syncopation and each student in the band plays their own part. You can’t fake it if you don’t know what to do,” Campbell said. “We wanted to give kids who were a little more advanced the opportunity to play with other kids from other schools. The whole idea is they’ll be inspired by each other and take it back to their programs at their own school.”

Students in grades 9-12 at any Davis County school are eligible to participate in the jazz program that includes two concerts each year. Rehearsals are each Monday, usually at Woods Cross High, and there are hopes of creating a jazz program to include musicians in grades 7-8. 

Campbell said learning music helps students deal with the highs and lows of life. It teaches kids they’re not alone and how their part is critical to the whole, with each person having an important role. 

“If everyone would listen more to others, if everyone would be responsible for their own things, if they would be patient while others figured things out, if they learn how to be a leader and a follower, those are all the things you learn in music class,” he said. “It’s a microcosm of society in a very healthy way.”

For Darrin Thiriot, he’s looking forward to his first year directing the Davis Youth Philharmonic, an ensemble geared toward high school students, although younger kids that are advanced can also participate. 

Thiriot recently retired from the military where he spent 27 years directing bands, orchestras and choirs all over the country. A Bountiful High grad, Thiriot joined an air force band, playing the clarinet, before he made the switch to conducting. 

“I grew up in Bountiful so I was fortunate enough to be a product of Davis County schools,” he said. “I retired and moved back home and had this opportunity and I was thrilled to be a part of it.”

Thiriot hopes to attract more students to the philharmonic, especially since the music programs have seen a drop in participation since COVID. He considers this time to be a rebuilding phase for all arts programs, giving them a reboot and a reset. 

“We certainly want to grow it in size and ability,” Thiriot said. “The arts are something that benefits everyone’s lives. The arts don’t just poof into existence. You have to train these kids from a young age. Along the way many of them will not stick with music, but what they do is develop a lifelong appreciation for various art forms and they become consumers of that art.”

Like competitive sports, most music students who graduate will not play after high school, but time spent in a symphony orchestra is a growing time where students are surrounded by musical inspiration. 

The mission of the Davis County advanced music programs is to challenge students, enhance their skills, provide opportunities to perform, create camaraderie with other musicians, develop physical and mental stamina and promote community support with performances. 

For more information about the music programs or concert schedules in Davis School District, visit Davis.k12.ut.us.

“These kids are learning discipline, they’re learning teamwork and they’re also learning appreciation for the rules of the game, fair play, fair competition, sportsmanship, kindness and being tough as nails when you need to. These are the things kids are learning in orchestra,” Thiriot said. “We’re trying to develop these kids into better musicians, better people, better artists and turn them into lifelong appreciation and consumers of various art forms. The arts have the highest potential to make you a better human being.”λ