Classical Musicians: Eddie Oliver

In a world filled with music, it is an inevitable choice, as a musician, which route to take: the way of rock and pop or the classical path. Senior Eddie Oliver has chosen the classical way, as a percussionist. He specializes in mallet instuments and the vibraphone. Olver is a performer in the A2 Jazz Band, and he also plays timpani and bells in the Symphony and Chamber Orchestras.
Classical artists are performing a style of music that was begun far before pop music, and therefore, they still deserve notice.
“Advice I would give to aspiring musicians would be to practice a lot. You can accomplish so much if you actually try and stick with it,” said Oliver.
Oliver began taking piano lessons at the age of eight, and continued his musical education by joining the school band in 4th grade. He began percussion in the 7th grade by playing the xylophone, and has not stopped since.
Currently, he is working on an ambitious set list for the Jazz Band and is arranging a mallet quartet for a ragtime piece by Scott Joplin for the Solo/Ensemble Festival in April. However, the most diffficult thing he is working on now is playing a vibraphone concerto with Symphonic Winds.
Oliver is planning to be a music major in college, though he is not yet sure what university he will attend.
“I would just like to thank Milan Moliere and Lathell Powel, Tristan Buckreis, and Tom Hughes,” Oliver said. “Without any of those individuals I would not be the musician or even the person I am today; they have helped me tremendously throughout the years.”