Born and raised in Springfield, Jeremy Larson is an Indie/Alternative artist with raw musical talent no longer found in mainstream music. To debut his third solo album, Larson brought together a variety of people, including Darren King, drummer of Mute Math, Stacy DuPree, lead singer of Eisley and a large group of students from surrounding schools such as Drury, Central, Hillcrest and Glendale, to play in the orchestra. This collaboration makes up the backbone of the concert, which is filled with melodic orchestra, piano and drums.  

    Right after seeing Larson’s blog post, Daugherty began making connections.

    “I contacted him when I found out he was looking for string players,” Daugherty said. “Once I contacted him, he asked me if I could come over to his studio and just have a look at the music, and it just kind of went from there.”

    “Javan said he started screaming like a girl whenever Jeremy Larson texted him,” Westenberg said. 

    It took Daugherty time to come up with the right words to express his feelings about playing alongside Larson. 

    “It was pretty incredible because I’ve followed his music from his first album, been pretty obsessed; then getting his new music from his album three months early was, I’ll just be cliché, it was a dream come true.” Daughtery said. “I’ve been listening to him since eighth or seventh grade.  He’s been a huge influence in my life, musically.” 

   Despite the excitement of it all, playing with Larson was a dedication that had its fair share of hard work. 

    “It was usually down to business,” Daugherty said. 

    The two students were a part of only a handful of high school musicians playing in Larson’s orchestra/symphony, with Daugherty playing the upright bass and Westenberg on the cello. 

   “We practiced for two and a half months two hours every Sunday, and even longer on the day before the concert,” Westenberg said. “There are no brass instruments. It’s acoustic guitar, which is beautiful, bass, cello, violin, viola, bongo drum and then another kind of drum, and the piano which Jeremy Larson is playing and directing people at the same time.” 

    The night of the performance, the Gillioz theatre, seating 1,200 people, was packed.

    “I thought that I remembered that the Gilloiz seats 700, but turns out it seats 1,200, and we were able to get it pretty full, including the balcony, so that was a pleasant surprise,” Larson said.

    “It was definitely encouraging. I think that as a musician, and anyone that is self employed, is looking for signs that your career is moving in the right direction, and in some ways looking for validation that you made the right choice.”

    Larson seems to be on the tipping point of something huge.

“I think this is a launching pad for a really big career. This is his second solo album and he plays almost every other instrument,” Westenberg said.

    “Daugherty’s dedication to an up-and-coming artist reaped more benefits than spreading new music throughout the school.

    “I think I was more excited than anything to finally be a part of something that I love so much and have been following; something I kind of grew up with. I wasn’t really nervous, I was excited to share this music with people that haven’t heard it yet and see if they love it as much as I do.” Daughtery said.

    Jeremy Larson has a blog at jeremylarson.typepad.com with links to his new CD “They Reappear.”