By M. Scott Carter
LONE WOLF — At 17, Tyler Martin has the mind of an engineer.
But he has the soul of a drummer.
A senior at Westmoore High School, Tyler recently spent two weeks studying percussion at the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute at Quartz Mountain.
“It’s something I appear to be pretty good at,” he says, with far more modesty than the typical 17-year-old. “It’s something I like to do.”
It’s also something he does well.
Recruited by his teachers at Westmoore, Tyler auditioned via video for arts institute officials. “They said they needed percussionists, so I auditioned.”
And he made it.
As one of 268 students chosen from more than 1,300 applicants, Tyler spent two weeks immersed in music. And, he said, it was two weeks well spent.
“There’s nothing like playing these base rhythms,” he said.
He also looks the part.
Sporting a dark, full beard and sparkling eyes, Tyler looks like he was taken from a 60s jazz club and dropped down in southwestern Oklahoma.
He knows what’s required.
He speaks the language.
But he’s not sure he wants to make a career of music.
“I’ll probably always be involved in someway with music, but I’m not sure it will be my career,” he says. “I think I want to study engineering.”
His blogs tell a different story.
As part of his trip, Tyler posted regular updates on the Norman Transcript’s Web site. And while the write seems to be done by a much older individual, the words reflect a deep love of music.
“As I look down at the Institute from atop a small mountain, I feel a sense of accomplishment. Last night's concert from the choir and orchestra was quite amazing,” he wrote.
“In the fashion of Quartz performers, the choir did more than just sing; they took the roof off the house with grand voices in a musical performance professional singers would appreciate.
After that, the orchestra presented a lush musical scape with a sound so powerful as to invoke strong reactions from all present, especially me, as I've never performed so intensely. With these thoughts in my mind and the whole of the camp in my sights, I am certain the next week will prove to be as wonderful.”
It’s that focus that made him stand out, says Annina Collier, the arts institute’s spokesman, and a percussionist herself.
“Tyler is wonderfully talented,” she said. “And he is very dedicated to his craft.”
For Tyler that craft doesn’t just include the snap of the snare drum or the thump of the base. For this student, being a percussionist means reveling in the low rumble of the timpani or the sound of the marimba.
“There is nothing I like any more than sitting and playing a rosewood marimba,” he says. “Absolutely nothing.”
Still, even with the intense focus of the institute, for Tyler, two weeks in southwestern Oklahoma offer more than just music; it means a larger view of the world.
“It’s a chance to come and learn and see outside of Westmoore,” he said. “And that’s a view that’s nice to see.”
Sure, Tyler Martin may, eventually, become an engineer.
But stick him in the orchestra, had him a marimba and this young man will leave the world of engineering far behind.
Because Tyler Martin has the soul of a drummer.
