When assistant band director Bethany Robinson thinks of freshman trombone player Grace Wiles, she remembers a quote from a famous musician, “Trumpet player Arturo Sandoval told our students ‘you can play a million notes, but if you don’t have good tone, then no one wants to hear them, If you have good tone, you can play just two notes and wow a crowd.’ She has good tone.”

    Wiles started playing trombone in middle school, she immediately found her passion for playing. And this passion has lead her to become a member of the school’s top two bands. She’s in Wind Ensemble and in Jazz 1, she is first chair in Jazz 1.

     “I’ve been playing trombone since sixth grade, so three years,” Wiles said. “I originally wanted to play trumpet because my third and fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Darling, always talked about how she played trumpet, and I thought it would be fun.”

    Unfortunately, Wiles says things don’t always go as she hoped. However, there can be benefits to the setbacks and for Wiles, her second option was one of her best.

    “When I tried out the mouthpiece to the trumpet, it was too small. So then I tried out the trombone one, and it fit,” Wiles said. “Then I realized I could hit my brother with the slide if I wanted to. So I decided this is the one for me. This is it.”

    Wiles didn’t start dedicating herself to trombone when she first started playing. It took her about a year and earning a spot in jazz band for her to realize that she found her passion. Wiles decided to become dedicated to getting better.

   “Seventh grade was when I really started bringing [the trombone] home and practicing a lot,” Wiles said. “In sixth grade I didn’t care a lot. Then I just did it because all my friends were in band. Then I made jazz band and realized ’Holy crap it’s hard.’ I actually got to practice and know my music. So now I do the hour and a half a day with band and jazz band at school and [practice] quite a bit at home.”

    Wiles comes from an athletic family and used to play a sport: softball. But she recently left the diamond, which she said was one of the best decisions of her life, to pursue and devote more of her time to music.

    After Wiles had to miss a full week of marching band and a competition due to her softball commitment, she decided to dedicate the rest of her summer to being a Marching Miller.

    “I didn’t know that [she quit softball]- but had a sense that she was enjoying music a little more,” Robinson said.

       “My seventh grade year, the current sophomore class were eighth graders were getting ready to start marching band and were all super excited,” Wiles said. “I remember I waited my entire eighth grade year to join marching band, and I was definitely not disappointed in it.”

     Wiles is self-taught on guitar, bass guitar and ukulele. However, both band directors, Robinson and band director Eric Thornbury, agree she should continue playing rather than switch around to a different brass instrument. Thornbury says that most musicians tend to switch around and try to become a ‘jack of all trades’ for instruments.

    “Oh, she’s definitely staying,” Thornbury said. “We need trombones so she’s going to be staying on trombone, especially with her skill.”

           Drum major, Ben Elliott met Wiles at jazz cafe where he was blown away at her skill.

    “The first time that I ever heard Grace was last year at Jazz Cafe,” Elliott said. “I remember hearing her solo and just thinking to myself ‘This is the trombone angel [Noblesville Band Department] has needed for five years now,’ and I’m so happy that she’s finally a part of us. Just that one solo was enough for me to know that she was gonna be amazing.”