From potential to perfection

For a typical music major, study time also includes time devoted to practicing their instruments. 

Hale senior Kaylee Bernard dedicates at least two hours per day to individual practice time, on top of hours spent in lessons and rehearsals throughout the week. Bailey senior Parker Fritz also devotes several hours per day to lessons, and rehearses almost every day of the week with his quartet.

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What do these two have in common? Both are members of the Central Michigan University saxophone studio. 

The CMU saxophone studio is one of many instrumental studios within the CMU School of Music. Composed of 20 saxophone students, the studio is revered as one of the best, competing successfully with several talented saxophone studios in the midwest. But what sets it apart as one of the best is a dedication to the highest standards from every member of the studio. 

Only four students are accepted into the saxophone studio each year from the 20-35 high school students that will audition. These low acceptance rates come from saxophone professor John Nichol's high standards for the studio, from academics to musical ability. 

Under Nichol's guidance, the studio has grown in the last four decades to boast award-winning quartets, a culture of respect, and successful, yet humble, students. This success comes from starting at the bottom, and working up. 

Building from the ground up

Tucked away on the second floor of the CMU school of music sits the office of John Nichol, the saxophone studio professor. Inside his office, dozens of photos of saxophone quartets line the wall, the faces of his students staring back at him. 

In the center of the room sits a music stand, where each of his students will spend an hour per week in one-on-one lessons with him. Freshmen and sophomores will focus on both technique and repertoire, while older students will practice only repertoire. 

Nichol devotes the majority of his time to working with his undergraduate students, a technique that may seem strange to other studio professors.

While some saxophone studios may focus their attention to more experienced graduate students, Nichol believes in nurturing undergraduate and younger students instead. This was a practice he began with his studio years ago, and has reaped great benefits.  

“We focus on younger students, building a skill set,” he said. “The sooner I can get them to play well, the better off they are. It’s a strong studio, all the way from the freshmen to the graduate students.”

For Bernard, Nichol’s passion for developing undergraduate students is what makes the CMU saxophone studio so special.

“I think that’s a big pull for incoming students,” she said. “Not only do you have someone that’s super knowledgeable and passionate about music education, but someone that’s going to spend time with you from day one.”

Nichol believes the most valuable thing he can give his students is time, and he lives by this motto "seven days a week."

A plant used to sit in his office, reminding him of the importance of time and patience. 

“Plants don’t just grow by themselves – they take time," he said. "You have to water it, nurture it, talk to it. You have to respect it.” 

He brings this methodology back to his teaching. 

“Students need to be respected and nurtured, just like that plant,” he said. 

Nichol has taught the CMU saxophone studio for 38 years. He was a student here himself in the early ‘70s.

“The studio has grown in quality over the past 38 years,” he said. “But I’ve had great studios since the beginning. It’s always been strong.”

Nichol’s key to success with his students? Stickers.

The saxophone studio professor uses a sticker system to communicate with his students how they are doing. If a student gets four stickers at a lesson, they walk out of the lesson with their head held high, knowing they’ve done a good job. One sticker lets them know there's room for improvement.

“Isn’t that strange?” he said with a chuckle. “A guy handing out stickers at the university level? You would think it’s a first-grade type of reward, but (the students) like it. It's a form of approval and praise."

After many years of teaching, Nichol has learned to individualize his lessons to each particular student. 

"If I have 20 saxophone students, I have to teach 20 different lessons," Nichol said. "Teach the student, don't teach the subject matter."

Many high school students are drawn to the CMU School of Music after taking lessons with Nichol. Even when he was in high school, Fritz knew CMU was the school to go to out of the state's saxophone studios. He was drawn to Nichol's teaching style after taking saxophone lessons with him as a high schooler.

"He knows how to style his teaching to a specific student," Fritz said. "He holds the whole studio to high standards."

Many of Nichol's students have gone on to be CMU faculty members, performers and highly-regarded band directors.

Randi L'Hommedieu, director of music education, believes that, out of the high-quality saxophone studios around the state, Nichol is one of the best.

"I've seen some of the top international teachers work with students, and I believe John Nichol is one of the best studio teachers I've ever observed," he said. "He's consistently successful in taking his students from potential to excellence."

The studio

Nichol is selective of who he allows into the CMU saxophone studio. While he hears between 20-35 high school students audition each year, only four will be allowed a spot. 

He takes into account not only the student’s ability to play well, but how they perform academically. SAT/ACT scores and GPAs play large a part in who he will accept. 

“I like 'em smart,” he said with a smile. “Half of my studio is made of Centralis scholars."

Nichol will take the four freshmen each year and group them into a saxophone quartet, which they will stay in for their four years at CMU. 

The studio, which currently has 20 saxophonists, consists of 5 saxophone quartets: Treetops, Kefi, Kairos, Zenith and Oceana. 

While each quartet may have separate goals from one another, each will grow together throughout their four years as a group.

The quartet Zenith is now in its fourth year together, and has changed a bit since they first started.

The group consists of Taylor Huitema, Parker Fritz, Ben MacDonald and Diego Kieliszewski. 

"When we first started, we were just happy to be making music together. That's always been our backbone," said Huitema, a senior from Oscoda. "But as sophomore and junior year geared up, we realized, 'Hey, we're not bad at this.' So we became a more competitive-minded quartet."

Zenith were 2017 quarterfinalists at Fischoff, a national chamber music competition, and won the 2018 Music Teacher National Association regional chamber music competition. The age range for that spans from undergraduate college students all the way to professional musicians.

"Winning MTNA state round was pretty hard, because the Midwest is very competitive for saxophone," Fritz said. Zenith went on to the national rounds and came in second place – the group that won first place had two CMU alumni in it. 

Last semester, the group had the unique and prestigious opportunity to premiere music written just for them. Zenith collaborated with MCI, a group of composers, who composed a new piece for Zenith to perform at a world premiere. 

With that venture, the group's goal became furthering musical literature, Huitema said. 

Now that Zenith is in their last semester together, it's back to basics: focusing on making music together and enjoying each other's company. This semester, the group is focusing on drilling music and rehearsing for their final spring recital.

The quartet Kairos, currently in its third year, is less competition-based and focuses more expressing themselves together through music. But they still have some awards under their belt – after winning the state round, Kairos won the alternate spot in the MTNA chamber music competition, the same one Zenith competed in.

Kairos is made of Emmet Harris, Kaylee Bernard, Aaron Rajewski and Kyle Pokropowicz. 

"While we do want to do competitions to push ourselves to get better, we also see making music as beautiful and worthwhile," said Hale senior Kaylee Bernard. 

Sometimes that's hard when the pressure of competition is there, Bernard said. But for them, along with all saxophonists in the studio, making music is special.

"Just taking a minute to realize we're not doing music for the competitions, but because it's an expressive thing and something we get to create, that's meaningful," she said.

Building a community

Because each quartet has different goals, the studio has a friendly and safe environment, rather than a competitive one. Though quartets will sometimes compete in the same competitions, they aim to uplift one another.

"We all view making music a little differently," Bernard said. 

Nichol has focused on creating a culture of respect and support within his studio. 

"As studio professors, we have to create a fabulous culture, one where students feel secure, rewarded, respected, and sometimes disciplined," he said.

Like each of CMU's instrumental studios, there is a very individualized community within the saxophone studio. Each student has similar goals of becoming stronger musicians, and aim to help one another succeed. 

The culture within the School of Music sets it apart from other academic buildings on campus. The student musicians, who spend hours per day with one another, are able to build their own communities based off their like-mindedness. 

"We all are working toward not only creating music, but helping other people learn how to create music," Bernard said. "That just really goes toward the overall culture here in the School of Music where everyone is very caring and helpful and we’re a little weird sometimes, but it’s nice because it’s a similar weirdness we have together."