Pacific University alumnus Kevin Hummel drummed his way to the Vancouver Symphony and the Portland Wind Symphony in less than a year. Hummel, 23, is the youngest musician in the Van- couver Symphony, but still holds himself to the same
level of professional standards like the older musi- cians.
“This was the first time I felt out of my league,
but after the first performance, it was awesome play- ing with other professionals,” said Hummel.
Since the second grade, Hummel wanted to play the drums. His parents were very supportive. They put him in the school band, where he first fell in love with playing drums. He said it felt so natural to play music. Hummel’s passion for music comes from his parents. Music is apart of his identity and has provided him an outlet.
“As a musician, your feelings are more empha- sized, you know how the mu-
sic is created,” said Hummel. For him, music is his best
form of expression. In both symphonies,
Hummel plays percussion. A private instructor that played in the Vancouver Symphony recommended Hummel for the job and he has been apart of the symphony since the beginning of last fall.
“The audition process was intimidating and I was very nervous. I was shocked when I got the spot,” said Hummel. “Performing with this symphony is the biggest professional performance to this day.”
Hummel said once he started to
get to know people in the Vancouver Symphony, he then started to be recognized by other musicians.
He had only been with the symphony for a little over six months when he was asked to play percussion in the Portland Wind Symphony. After
going through the audition process again, Hummel got the job as a percussionist and has been playing with the Portland Wind Symphony for six months.
“It’s a fun experience to break into the profes- sional music community,” said Hummel.
This fall term, Hummel plans to attend the University of Oregon’s two-year masters program in music education. University of Oregon is the only university in the Northwest that provides a master’s in music education. In furthering his education, his goal is to get a PhD in music history and education from the University of Oregon. Hummel said this degree was more comprehensive for him and being admitted into the program shows that he has a spe- cialty in music.
He is currently teaching drum line and percus- sion at Hillsboro High School. Hummel loves work- ing with high school students.
“They see my passion for music and look up to that,” said Hummel. “It’s rewarding to see their own passion for music.”
Hummel plans to stay within the Oregon area and come back to Pacific as a professor to teach music history. He also plans to stay apart of both the Van- couver Symphony and the Portland Wind Symphony as long as he can.
“I plan to audition for other symphonies. What- ever I can do to keep playing music,” said Hummel. “Essentially, one day I want to conduct a band or orchestra.”
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