Westview sax player gains state, national attention

By Emily Sorensen

Westview High School senior Omar Burkhart certainly knows how to keep himself busy. A talented saxophone player, Burkhart’s dedication to his craft has led him to receiving both state and national attention.

“I’m just very passionate about my music,” said Burkhart. “I really just love playing.”

Omar Burkhart

Burkhart not only performs with his school’s Westview Gold Jazz Band, but with two of the top independent jazz groups in the San Diego region, Generation Jazz and Jazz Express, spending about 15 – 20 hours a week outside of school on his music. Last year, his performance with the Westview band earned him an Outstanding Soloist Award at the Coronado Jazz Festival.

This hard work has paid off, as Burkhart has been accepted as one of six tenor sax players into the California All-State Honor Band for the second year in a row, Despite being chosen as one of the best young musicians in California, for Burkhart, the honor is in the ensemble.

“It’s not so much about being recognized as one of the best in the state, but getting the opportunity to perform with the best in the state,” he said.

Burkhart has also been chosen for the second year to perform with the All-Southern California Honor Band, where he will perform in concert with them on Sunday, Jan. 29 at the University of Redlands.

In addition to the recognition from the state, Burkhart has also received national attention by being selected as an alternate to the two tenor sax positions for the prestigious Honor Band of America, representing the top high school musicians from across the country, which will perform at the Music for All National Festival in March.

Burkhart has also begun to expand his musical talent outside of the sax.

“As a sax player, you have to be able to play the flute and the clarinet as well to get different gigs,” Burkhart explained. “I’ve been practicing very hard on those recently.”

He recently had the opportunity to show off those new musical skills when he led a small combo of jazz musicians at Westview High School’s dance troupe’s winter performance. He also not only performed in the pit orchestra in the district’s recent performance of the musical “Hairspray,” but helped put it together after discovering the show did not plan to have one. “It was a really great experience,” said Burkhart. “A different experience.”

Though he kept to the orchestra pit for “Hairspray,” Burkhart has recently made forays into acting, performing on stage with Westview’s production of “To Kill a Mockingbird.” For Burkhart, acting is not only fun, but relaxing as well.

“Theater makes it easier for me to maintain a social life,” said Burkhart.

Though Burkhart loves music, he is also focused on his academic career. An AP scholar with a 3.75 grade point average, Burkhart plans to go to college with the intent on becoming a pediatrician. “I have a knack for taking care of little kids,” said Burkhart. “I like being around little kids.”

Burkhart hasn’t yet decided which college he will attend, but is thinking of majoring in biochemistry, with an aim of attending medical school. “The science and medical field is very interesting to me,” sad Burkhart.

No matter what career he pursues, Burkhart doesn’t plan letting his musical growth stagnate. “I’m always looking for opportunities to improve myself,” said Burkhart. “I’m really striving to get better, especially in my improvising.

“I’m trying to do way too many things at once,” Burkhart acknowledged. “It’s kind of tough that I don’t have a lot of free time. But I want to jam as much into these six months as I can before I go off to college.”

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Posted by Emily Sorensen on Jan 28 2012. Filed under Entertainment, Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry