The mallets rise and fall, moving faster and faster, weaving together a pattern that becomes more and more complex. The music reverberates through the open space of the NHS band room and fills the room with a beautiful noise.

    Sophomore Thomas Wiegand steps back from the marimba and looks over to his bass guitar. Wiegand said that music has always been a big part of his life.

    “My whole family has been in music,” Wiegand said. “My mom plays french horn, and my mom’s whole side of the family plays brass instruments, so music was just a natural thing to do.”

    Wiegand first started playing music when he started taking piano lessons in the second grade.

    “I started taking piano lessons because I wanted to play an instrument, although I wasn’t sure what I wanted to play at that point.” Wiegand said.  “I was told that piano was a good first instrument to get a basic knowledge of reading music and learning scales.

    Although Wiegand started on piano, he didn’t actively pursue it.

    “The whole time [I was taking lessons], I didn’t like piano,” Wiegand said. “I wanted to play percussion.”

    Wiegand finally had his opportunity to play percussion when he joined band in middle school. Wiegand earned three gold medals this year at ISSMA Solo and Ensemble with three percussion solos.

    “I was always probably the best at the marimba,” Wiegand said. “It always seemed the most fun to me, probably because it was most like the piano.”

    NHS percussion teacher Alexander Keim said that the reason Wiegand sticks out from the crowd is because of the effort he puts into his craft.

    “Sometimes he’ll stay until 3:30 p.m. or 4 p.m. He’ll do that multiple times a week, and I don’t see really anyone else put in that same amount of time,” Keim said.  

    Wiegand also learned to play bass guitar when he was approached before eighth grade by Stacey White, the band director at Noblesville West Middle School. White needed a bass player so he asked Wiegand if he would want to learn bass.

    “[Mr. White] said he needed a bass player and I didn’t really want to do it, but he gave it to me anyway,” Wiegand said.

    Wiegand now plays bass guitar for the intermediate/advanced jazz ensemble. He says there’s something special about playing jazz.

    “Jazz is the most fun to play,” Wiegand said. “Other genres can be fun, but I always come back to jazz. There’s just something different about it…  a carefree style that appeals to me.”

    Jazz band director Bethany Robinson has seen Wiegand’s peers impact him as a musician.

     “I think any student grows when they’re around good musicians, so I’ve seen him grow each year because he’s been surrounded by really strong rhythm section students,” Robinson said.  “His peers encourage him because they hear really cool things in his playing, too, not just me.”

    Robinson said that Wiegand seemed a little nervous about the improvisation aspect of jazz at first, but he has gained confidence over the last two years.

    “I wouldn’t make students do more than one solo round, but, often times, [the drummer] will encourage him to do it because he likes what he’s hearing,” Robinson said.

    Wiegand believes that music has a positive influence on people.

     “I think it would be a great thing if everybody learned to play an instrument,” Wiegand said. “I think it can bring people together.”