Glacier senior talks inspiration, legacy

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series recognizing talented graduates from the class of 2015. This year’s series highlights students who are shaping or creating their futures as artists, entrepreneurs, scientists, inventors or humanitarians.

Nicholas “Nick” Barr is playing his future by ear and hoping to write his legacy in musical notes.

The 18-year-old musician is a graduating senior at Glacier High School with ambitions of becoming a professional performer and composer. Opening or running a recording studio also has been a longtime dream.

While reserved during an interview at the school on May 19, Barr lets loose behind his instrument. In the Black Box Theatre, Barr picks up his trumpet and plays while his portrait is taken.

The trumpet is just one of the instruments Barr plays. He also plays French horn, euphonium, percussion and his favorite, guitar, which he learned to play in fourth grade.

“There’s always more to be achieved with music. There’s never an end,” Barr said. “Everyone can connect with music and that’s really important for a lot of people to have something to connect to and at times it can get you through just about anything.”

He has a good foundation to pursue a music career, playing in all the bands that Glacier offers — concert, symphonic and jazz bands and percussion ensembles. These days he has three periods of music.

Outside of school the music doesn’t stop. He plays with a steel drum combo, percussion with the Glacier Symphony and bass guitar with the Don Lawrence Orchestra.

Barr has challenged himself musically, earning superior ratings all four years of high school at the State Music Festival. He was selected to play for the All-Northwest and All-State bands his senior year, the University of Montana All-Star Band junior and senior year and the Glacier High School Honor Band sophomore and senior year.

He was a musician in Glacier’s musical productions of “Tarzan” and “Big Fish.”

Sitting in the Glacier band office, band practice can be heard in the background. Barr is tasked with pinning down the moment he first connected to music. It’s difficult to do, but he links his early connections to music to attending marching band performances directed by his father when they lived in Texas.

His father, David, is director of bands at Glacier.

“He influenced me to do more with music,” Barr said.

While Barr has written original music, he hasn’t heard a live band perform it — yet. He eventually would like to publish music for high school and college-level bands.

“I usually get a melody in my head or a general idea of what I want it to sound like, and then as I write it. I think of each individual part and then combine them all into one song,” Barr said. “I’m mostly arranging things right now. I combined a couple of Led Zeppelin songs for our marching show this year.”

Led Zeppelin is one of the classic rock legends he draws inspiration from, along with Jimi Hendrix and Cream. Dave Grohl of the rock group Foo Fighters is Barr’s all-time favorite musician. Locally, he appreciates the work of trumpet player and composer Allen Vizzutti of Missoula.

As if on cue, the intro to Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” can be heard from the band room.

The corners of Barr’s mouth turn up in a smile: “Yeah.”

While he’s into rock, jazz is for musicians in the top of their game according to Barr.

“There’s so much improv and the chords are unlike anything you’ll see in concert music,” Barr said.

Besides music, Barr is a National Honor Society member with a 3.89 grade point average.

Barr will attend the University of Montana, majoring in music composition and jazz performance.

“Hopefully I’ll start writing music and get published in some fashion, whether it’s self-published or with a company,” Barr said. “And I always want to be performing with some group, whether it’s on trumpet or guitar.”

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.