It was spring break when I met musician Alyssa Langager, FAB’s featured Artist of the Month. We had to sandwich in an hour before she left to check out Wazzu and the baseball season. She was off to the Mariners’ opening day game. This senior alto saxophone player also plays third base for Kingston High School, and the season is ON!
Alyssa thought alto sax was the “coolest thing” starting in sixth-grade band. Now, as lead alto sax, she plays in the Kingston High School Jazz and Wind ensembles and Marching Band.
“All are unique,” Alyssa said. “The alto sax is interchangeable, covering a wide range of genres. The musicians interact differently. In the Jazz Ensemble, we have solo breaks where we improvise. It’s lots of fun with my second family.”
Her first family is truly a local family, and Alyssa has lived all her life in Hansville.
“Condensed communities are unique, and while there is lots of give and take, it is sometimes difficult to expand my horizons,” she said. “Music and sports give me an outlet to express myself. They open up a broad spectrum of people where one can find someone for a friend.”
Softball resumed in the Olympic League — seven schools, from Port Angeles to Kitsap County to North Mason — after spring break, and because Alyssa is captain of the Kingston High School team, she will be playing ball instead of traveling to Montana with the marching band.
“My family is a baseball family and I remember spending lots of time at Snider Park,” she said. “Band and ball are very different and I am passionate about both.”
Band Boosters got a thumbs up from this senior.
“I don’t know where we’d be without Band Boosters,” Alyssa said. “They handle the complicated stuff. The funding situation is hectic but all the same, we musicians are not hindered in our opportunity to enjoy. Mr. Haag does a fantastic job as band director at KHS and also at Kingston Middle School. How does he do all he does?”
About the future, Alyssa said, “I don’t know yet about my future. I’m told I need to have a plan of action, but I have time. I’m only 18. I’m an indecisive person and don’t feel pressured.”
As far as the worldwide big picture, she said, “At times it is hard to fathom what is going on in the world. There is always stuff to learn but it is hard to detect biased sources. Ms. Roberts, my English teacher, has made it possible through ‘Face to Faith,’ an online blog website, to talk with students in Egypt and Italy. This is another way for us to see the world. Ms. Roberts does a lot for our school.”
After a long pause, Alyssa said of her favorite subject, English: “In a way, English is an art form too. Sometimes life can become boring when viewing the world and all that it has to offer from the same perspective. To me, it’s refreshing to view life from a different frame of mind, whether it be from text, music, etc.”
How fortunate we were to peek into the perspective of Kingston High School artists through this column for another school year. The wisdom they share with us is rich.
— Contact Marilyn Bode at Lidenbode@aol.com.
