Second-year St. Thomas University student Kassy Axhemi, double honours in philosophy and political science, is a trumpeter with STU Jazz.
Playing with STU Jazz has been his first experience with jazz since middle school. He started to learn trumpet and get a chance to know Don Bosse, STU music professor and directior of STU Jazz. Bosse encouraged him to continue to play jazz, classical music and get involved with the band.
For him, STU Jazz is like family. There are 20 members right now. Everyone in the band is a great and energetic musician.
“It’s a really nice and welcoming group and we just play our music,” Axhemi said.
One of the best parts of STU Jazz is its social aspect. Some STU professors are in the band, like Matthew Robinson, from the English department.
“Its social activity you can hang around with people. And you can enjoy yourself.” Axhemi said.
Axhemi encourages more youth to learn a different instrument. Although nowadays people tend to play music on the computer, he still thinks the sound coming from real instruments has a unique charm.
“It’s nice, warm, different sound – rather than what you hear from the computer,” Axhemi said.
For his future career, Axhemi doesn’t have a particular direction. Right now he enjoys music as a hobby. It’s a nice way to pass the time and relax after doing homework.
