As he graduates from Samo, Niall Ferguson moves on to UCLA to study music.
Joe ColajezziSenior A&E EditorFor most adolescents, high school is a time for exploration. Ambitious students inevitably take on a diverse schedule to impress colleges. This allows these students to sift through their triumphs and shortcomings to discover what they are passionate about. However, for senior Niall Ferguson, who found his passion in fourth grade, high school has been a time to perfect his craft— music“Music is more than my hobby. It’s a more profound outlet for communication. I consider it as potent as speech,” Ferguson said.The choice to pursue music in college was admittedly an easy one for Ferguson, who will be attending the University of California, Los Angeles next year to study cello performance. After two years of playing the clarinet in elementary school, Ferguson first picked up a cello in the sixth grade. Since then, he has also learned his way around string bass, bassoon and percussion.“I practice every day, anywhere from one to four hours,” Ferguson said, admitting that he has to be particularly inspired to accomplish a four-hour practice session.In addition to playing nearly half a dozen instruments, Ferguson is also interested in musical composition and will potentially double-major in music scoring in college.At last month’s annual Orchestra Pops Concert, Ferguson demonstrated his compositional prowess by conducting 95 symphony orchestra students in a re-arranged score from a popular Japanese film. Ferguson arranged the piece for his classmates by listening to the original version and documenting the notes with an online musical notation software called Sibelius.According to Ferguson, his knack for conducting was a skill that came naturally to him. Ferguson learned the techniques necessary to conduct a 90+ orchestra in one night, staying after Symphony’s final rehearsal with orchestra director Joni Swenson until 11 p.m. the night before the concert.“I don’t know that I’d ever felt as nervous as I did in the minutes leading up to the performance, but the greatest relief came from looking out at the orchestra from the podium and seeing focus and attentiveness in the eyes of my peers,” Ferguson said.Later that night, Ferguson was awarded the Maestro award for his multi-faceted skill set, as well as a scholarship from Samo’s music department.Although the young musician has only just recently begun dabbling in musical composition, Ferguson hopes to eventually become a professional recording artist. This includes the musical scoring of films, commercials and radio. According to Ferguson, like most careers in the entertainment business, the studio-music industry is an incredibly competitive field.“It’s hard to convince people that you’re serious because of all of the obvious risks that go along with being a musician. The odds of finding a job are slim, but in this day and age, your chances are pretty slim finding a job anywhere.”However, the odds seem to be working in Ferguson’s favor. Long Beach opera director and cellist Timothy Loo recently noticed Ferguson while coaching the Junior Chamber Music Society. Ferguson now interns for Loo at his recording studio.“[Loo] knew that for me it was important to understand what the professional world is like. It can get pretty cutthroat,” Ferguson said.In addition to acknowledging the professional music world’s cutthroat nature, Ferguson feels that his Samo orchestra journey has been competitive in its own right.“The cello section here has always been incredible. Trying to keep first chair has been a challenge,” Ferguson said.During his time at Samo, Ferguson says the most valuable experience he has gained has come from the relationships he has built with his peers and teachers. His mentor and teacher Joni Swenson has nothing but high hopes for the aspiring professional musician.“Niall is a truly gifted artist – one of the most versatile musicians I’ve ever encountered. He just has a skill set in so many different aspects of music,” Swenson said. “I think he’s going to be a serious movie composer, like the next John Williams or Michael Giacchino.”jcolajezzi@thesamohi.com
