Freshman clarinet player Jenny Van Dusen has surpassed older peers in placement for her section in the symphonic band.

Symphonic band – the highest of all concert bands – requires student auditions. In the audition, they will be assessed on their musical abilities including note range, intonation, and rhythmic understanding, which Jenny proved she had. 

“She’s hard working, and she’s very humble about it though. When you’re a more advanced player, that being humble about it too is what’s really going to get you up there,” Marianne Cayer, clarinet section leader in symphonic and marching band said.

High school bands definitely differ in environment than those of previous levels.

“I’ve been playing since fourth grade,” Jenny said. This is one year earlier than most band students in the Chandler District, giving her five, going on six years of total playing time under her belt. “I like it a lot more than junior high. [At] my old school, band was just kind of lacking.”

Jenny hails from a family full of musical experience, which ultimately prepared her for band at the high school level.

“[Jenny] started [music] when she was five years old,” Jenny’s father, Jeff Van Dusen, continues, “I borrowed a trumpet from one of the guys – I was playing in a band called the C.C. Ryder Express – and I taught her how to play a B-flat concert scale when she was in Kindergarten.”

The C.C. Ryder Express is a group of professional musicians who play locally for Arizona. Their manager, Bobby Van Rooy, has performed with well-known artists such as Sonny and Cher.

Van Dusen did this while holding a career teaching band – he has now retired after 35 years – which he pursued by following in the footsteps of his older brother, another band director.

This is how he was able to teach the B-flat concert scale to Jenny, one of the first things band students world-wide learn to play; it is the gateway to becoming a musician. Learning it in Kindergarten meant Jenny preceded students everywhere.

With such a wide variety of instrumentation in the family, it was no surprise that both Jenny and her mother play various instruments.

“[Music] just played such a huge role in my life and in our home that I guess it was kind of contagious, and Jenny sort of got the bug too,” Van Dusen said.

Jenny’s father said she has mentioned wanting to march in the prestigious Ohio State University marching band.

Her sights are set far in the future, and music will remain a big part of that.