Whether you like to call him Charles, Charlie Horse, Chuck, Chuckie, or Chuckie-Joe, the names don’t change the talent that lies within senior Charlie Jacobs.  Jacobs, a hard-working and engaging individual, recently performed in the Fall Band Concert that was held on Oct. 23 in the Robert L. Johnson auditorium.

Jacobs has been playing flute since fifth grade in Culver. In later years, he had learned to play the bass flute, piccolo, and clarinet.

“[Last year] in the All State Competition, I was recognized for honors orchestra in the All State Orchestra as the best piccolo player in the state,” said Jacobs. “This past summer, in August, I played bass flute at the National High School Flute Choir at the National Flute Association convention. I’m hopefully going to audition again this year.”

Jacobs shares the tale of how his flute playing days began.

“I wanted to play the flute because I like doing hard things,” Jacobs said. “My band director told me that it was the hardest [instrument] to make a sound [with] because there’s nothing else like it, so I said, ‘Oh, that’s cool! Let me try that!'”

Many people aren’t familiar with what it means to be involved in the National High School Flute Choir. To Jacobs, it means everything.

“The National High School Flute Choir is part of the National Flute Association,” Jacobs explains. “There’s a convention every year and each year, there’s a bunch of performances and different classes. You can go to classes that talk about flutes and [the program] lasts for five days. There are 25 kids in it and anyone part of the National Flute Association and in high school can audition for it. You audition for it in the winter, and if you qualify, they send you music. When you get to the convention, you rehearse with directors and have a concert with an ensemble of flutes playing together at once. I’d say the best moment of my musical career would be getting my acceptance letter into the National High School Flute Choir because I worked insanely for it and came close to death. The music was probably the hardest music I’ve ever played and all the hard work paid off.”

As a musician who plays many instruments, Jacobs’ schedule becomes complicated when balancing school work and music.

“Balancing music with school is hard,” Jacobs said. “I like to practice 4 hours a day and with that, I do little homework. This year is the worst year to balance stuff because there’s more pressure this year with college auditions. I make a schedule of how to practice. I write tempo goals and maybe I’ll write like, ‘next week I have to practice this much to get to this point.'”

There are many different professionals and West alumni that inspire Jacobs to work towards perfection.

“Mr. Koch [the former band director] taught us how to use music in our everyday lives and he helped me decide to major in music through how he taught,” Jacobs began. “Holly Jensen, who graduated 2 years ago, she played the flute and piccolo and she made the All State Honors Orchestra that I [got into]. My freshman year, I was just amazed by what she did and she inspired me want to be a good [musician]. There’s also my friend Melody Chua. She is a freshman at the University of Illinois and she is a really amazing flute player and a cool friend. Also, Alexa Sgill who teaches at Oberilin. She’s a professional flute player and her playing is amazing. She’s awesome. I listen to her all the time.”

Jacobs lives by the sayings “Commit to excellence,” and “You must look forward to locking yourself in a cubicle and listening to yourself critically for many hours a day.”

“If you want to be as good as Alexa Sgill, you have to commit to being as good as her and do what it takes to be that good,” Jacobs said. “There’s going to be hardships and things you don’t enjoy, like staying up at 4 in the morning and working an extra job to make up for the new flute you bought, but ultimately, that’s what you’re striving for. [The second quote] is from Linda Toote. It is important to me because if you can’t picture yourself doing that, you can’t major in Music Performance. If you can’t criticize yourself, you can’t help yourself get better at playing.”

Jacobs sees himself continuing his music career in college and beyond.

“Right now, I’m doing applications to 12 different music schools, so I’m going to major in music,” said Jacobs. “I’d say my top 3 schools are DePaul, Boston University, and Eastern Illinois University. I’m interested in majoring in Music Performance. I love music and I can’t really picture my life without music and not playing every single day. I can’t really picture anything else for that matter. I always thought since I was a little kid, ‘What am I going to do when I grow up?’ I thought about being a lawyer or something, but I didn’t like the idea of sitting behind a desk.”

“By sophomore year, I wanted to be a musician because it’s about what I really want to do with my life rather than just having a job and money. The competition is treacherous but I’m a crazy child. My parents are supportive and I think they would want me to have a back up and maybe have a double major, but that’s not going to happen because I need all my time focused toward music. If I double majored, I don’t know how much time I would have left to dedicate to music. It’s like saying, ‘If I’m not successful in music, then I should just double major,’ but that’s like setting yourself not to be successful in music. If you have something to fall back on, you’re not going to push yourself more.”

Jacobs has a message to share with aspiring musicians who strive to become better.

“You have to practice. If there’s someone you can look up to that is better than you, you should just practice, practice, practice. Make sure it’s constructive practice. Make sure you’re learning about yourself and learning about what you’re playing. Practice the basics. Go meet professionals in their field and don’t be afraid to talk to them and get advice from them.”

Crazy about Charlie? Here are some Fun Facts: 

–  His favorite movies are Kill Bill 1 and 2, he likes to listen to pop, classical, alternative rock, and Frank Sinatra, and his favorite food is homemade meatballs.
–  He is involved in Marching Band, Pop and Rock, Band Board, and GSA. He hopes to participate in track this year.
–  He has a long list of allergies: Wheat, soy, dairy, eggs, nuts, cats, dogs, trees, and grass.
–  He wishes that he could be a more focused person and improve his communication skills.