After watching his older brother, Connor, begin band and chorus in elementary school, senior Brady Rogan immediately knew he wanted to pursue music. “He always talked to me about it and how much he enjoyed it, so I kind of just followed in his footsteps,” Rogan explained. So, in third grade, following in the footsteps of his brother, Rogan began to play the clarinet.
Excellence soon followed, and Rogan continued to be involved in music throughout high school. For the last three years, Rogan has been involved in the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA), and first attended All-Country in grade nine. “I really enjoyed that experience… It was really nice being around a bunch of people [who] cared so much about the music as well… It really benefited my abilities as well,” Rogan reminisced.
Practice is an integral part of Rogan’s musicianship; the details and intricacies of his playing truly allow him to improve over time. Rogan does a lot of practicing at home by himself, but he explained how listening to music also helps him manifest much of what he wants for his playing and singing. “I can kind of transfer what I hear into how I play and how I interpret the music,” Rogan posited.
Yet, Rogan also consistently adapts at how he approaches practicing, proving that refining his skill is an essential process to his playing. “I’m always changing how I’m practicing,” Rogan asserted. “Just last year, when Mr. White was still here, he would always call out our embouchure [and say] it wasn’t tight enough, so I always tried to work on that and always tried to tighten my embouchure.”
Rogan is a jack-of-all trades, and thus is involved in many activities beyond the music department. Playing varsity baseball and volleyball, being involved in the nonprofit Students Gifting Music (SGM), Key Club, National Honor Society, and being the treasurer of Tri-M Music Honor Society, Rogan would not have it any other way. “For the last few years in March, I have Show Choir for Jazz and Pop, and I have baseball starting up, so there are a decent amount of conflicts that come up,” Rogan said. “But both the music teachers and my baseball coach are very flexible and very helpful,” he added.
Rogan also explained how he admired his instruments: “What makes [the clarinet] unique is, well, for one thing it’s a reed instrument, and it has so many keys compared to other instruments and there are so many different spots to put your fingers.” But the clarinet also proves to be a tedious instrument – embouchure and fingering techniques often being complex in many difficult musical pieces. “For clarinet, I feel like, when there are pieces with really fast runs, a lot of times I feel like I just get stuck if I can’t play ri
ght, and sometimes I get really frustrated with that,” he mused.
But Rogan’s inspirations offer him guidance whenever he feels discouraged. His brother continues to pursue music in college, and this has encouraged him to persevere through his playing no matter what. “He loves it, and he’s [helped] me and inspired me,” Rogan remarked. “Mr. White, my band teacher in ninth through eleventh grade, pushed us so hard, and he really wanted us to improve, and he had so much advice, in my opinion,” Rogan reminisced. He also added that his current band teacher, Zachary Rifkind, has been integral in encouraging his playing and musicianship. Rifkind remarked on Rogan’s development in music over the years, having known him since sixth grade at North Middle School. “Brady has embodied the pinnacle of excellence in the band room… Brady is a one-of-a-kind talent and personality. I will miss him sorely after this year concludes,” Rifkind affirmed.
School involvement through music, such as SGM, Tri-M, playing in the pit orchestra during school musicals, and the Jazz and Pop Concert in the spring have all encouraged Rogan to continue furthering his passion for music. Now, as he approaches the end of the school year, Rogan reminisced on the moments in his favorite musical group he has been in throughout high school: Show Choir. “I just loved everybody in the group. I loved going to rehearsal after school twice a week. I just enjoyed it so much!” Rogan exclaimed.
Rogan plans to attend Bucknell University and major
in mathematics. He deeply enjoys math – as much as he enjoys music – and finds similarities between the two. “You kind of have to change the way you practice…find the ‘right’ answer,” he explained. He also hopes to have some opportunities to pursue music. Yet, if the opportunities somehow do not arise formally, he still plans to pursue music on his own. “I just hope that I continue to make music. I don’t care if I get that much better, I mean I hope I do,” Rogan joked. “I just enjoy it, so I just hope that I continue to pursue it.”
