While most music students are on campus getting experience by taking classes, senior music performance major James Middleton is spending time across the country this semester.
Middleton is currently playing tenor saxophone, clarinet and flute on a 16-week national tour as the youngest member of the orchestra for the musical “In the Mood.”
At the conclusion of the tour, which began in mid-January, Middleton will have visited 60 cities in 24 states and performed 125 times.
His music career began in seventh grade when he entered middle school band as a tenor saxophone player. He didn’t begin playing clarinet or flute until after he graduated. Middleton said that if someone wants to be a jazz saxophone player, there is an expectation they play clarinet and saxophone as well.
“It was just something that I kinda needed to do if I wanted to be a professional and then I got really into [playing those instruments],” Middleton said. “It was probably my last year of high school when I was getting ready for college auditions and everything, that’s when I really got very serious about music.”
Middleton spent the first two years of his Ball State career as a music media production major, but realized he wanted to spend more time practicing and performing so he changed his major to music performance.
“I guess that’s when I really knew I wanted to be a performer and try to make a career out of that as opposed to doing anything else in music,” he said. “[Performing is] kind of indescribable, just being up there on stage.”
Middleton plays seven to nine shows per week. When he is not performing, he is free to explore whatever city he is in. The group has a tour bus and stays in a hotel each night. Middleton said the entire experience can be hard because it is a job, but overall it is a great experience and is hard to explain to people unless they’ve experienced being on tour. Previously, Middleton traveled to Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany with the Ball State Jazz Ensemble.
“Especially out here on tour every night we’re in front, you know, of a whole new crowd and we get to play for them and you know, bring back feelings for them or make them happy…. When they’re clapping and they’re enjoying the show, it’s just a really good feeling,” Middleton said. “It just makes me feel like I’m doing something that matters, really and that’s also kinda why I like music… I feel like I can really just express myself and say something different than anyone else.”
Middleton said it hasn’t been too weird for him to take this semester off. Though he's looking forward to it, he isn’t in a hurry to come back and finish his degree because the tour has been an opportunity to do what performance majors aim to do: perform as a job.
“I’m already doing what I plan to do after graduation, so it’s a great opportunity,” Middleton said. “I’d love to keep doing tours and keep performing, whether it’s with this group or another one.”
After graduation, Middleton wants to move to Green Bay, Wis., to continue working with Music for the Sake of Music, a nonprofit organization dedicated to music education. He said the organization already has plans to grow and expand, and he wants to be a part of that.
“I think one of the biggest reasons why I’ve been successful is that I try to create opportunities for myself; I don’t just wait until someone calls me about an opportunity… I think creating your own brand as a musician is really important because our company, our business is ourself,” he said.
Jazz professor Scott Routenberg has known Middleton since his freshman year when he first had him as a student. Routenberg said because of Middleton’s talent, work ethic and positive attitude, it is no surprise that he got the opportunity to tour with the group.
“[He] was always a diligent, inquisitive student who rose to every academic, intellectual and musical challenge presented to him,” Routenberg said. “It gives me great pleasure to see student successes like those of James Middleton, as they validate my goal as a jazz educator to prepare the next generation for successful careers in music.”
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