Drummer struck by good fortune – picked for Fort Langley jazz fest showcase
Young musician finds jazz's use of acoustic instruments "blends the perfect sound for one's heart and soul to enjoy."
Heather Colpitts
Jul 20, 2024
A Langley born-and-raised musician will share the music that he loves – jazz – as part of the Fort Langley Jazz & Arts Festival.
Steven Rutherford takes the stage Sunday, July 28 for the Rising Star showcase at the jazz festival. The performance starts at noon near the Fort Langley Community Hall. He will be joined by the four others who together with Rutherford make up The Ol' Jazz Factory.
"The jazz combo that I am a part of is a collaboration where all musicians, including me, decide on what songs to perform," he said. "We chose jazz songs that were not only composed throughout most of the 20th century, but also songs that people would recognize and would hopefully enjoy during my jazz combo’s performance."
Rutherford is looking forward to checking out the other performances at the festival, when he's not on stage, performing the music he loves.
He's also been a lifelong lover of music.
"I started to take piano lessons [at age 10] and was, at one point, the top of my class," he said.
Turns out he has perfect pitch and a natural gift for music.
"Throughout my school years, I was thoroughly involved in the band programs, where I was able to play most instruments without much guidance," he explained.
He enjoyed teaching others and sought out extra opportunities to learn music.
"My secondary school band director let me lead the program, and complemented me on my ability to have a great attitude and to encourage others. I am devoted to my schooling and development of my musical accomplishments, taking multiple extracurricular jazz and concert band courses. I understand that I am different, but I try to stay positive and use the techniques I learned to overcome any obstacles in my way."
Over the years there's been many school concerts, festivals, and musicals.
Now 19 he has expanded his instrument repertoire to include percussion - namely drums – and voice with an eye to making music his career.
"Once I started attending TWU, I made the decision to focus my musical career on becoming a professional drummer, percussionist, and singer, a music composer and songwriter, as well as a music ensemble conductor and bandleader. My future will always have music in it, and my goals reflect on what I want to pursue."
He's always loved classical music and jazz but feels the strongest pull to the uniquely American genre.
"Jazz stands out to me most because while other genres, like pop, have catchy melodies and solos, jazz gives musicians the freedom to showcase their skills while improvising solos and chords," he said. "Jazz also uses more acoustic instruments, which blends the perfect sound for one's heart and soul to enjoy."
Within the genre, he's gravitated to percussion.
“Percussion gives me a wide range of instruments to experiment on, instead of specializing on one instrument. It is a unique and fascinating section in an ensemble," Rutherford commented. "I chose percussion because I enjoy playing many different instruments in one piece of music. My secondary school music teacher encouraged me to 'keep the rhythm, create special sounds, and add excitement'."