Sophomore Lucas Brown has been doing percussion since he was in 3rd Grade. Brown is currently in Concert Band, Marching Band, Home Court Advantage and Tuesday Night Rock Band. In addition, he participates in the All-Suburban Band.

Brown auditioned for the Missouri All-State Band on Dec. 4, 2021. To prepare for his audition, he had to practice scales and pieces over and over again to memorize them. Although he didn’t get a spot in the band, he was the only percussionist from Lafayette to receive an honorable mention. Out of all the percussionists who auditioned, seven made the band. Four alternates were chosen, and five orchestra members. Brown was one of the seven honorable mentions from the audition. Honorable mentions are given to students who showed great musical skill during their audition.

Band teacher Brad Balog has had Brown in his class for the past two years.

“Lucas is a very talented and hard-working percussionist. He is very responsible, not only as a musician and player but just as a person in the program. He’s somebody we can count on all the time, not just from a performance and musical perspective but also as an example for the rest of the group,” Balog said. “He’s always doing the right thing, has a great positive attitude, and is a leader in the ensemble. He just has fantastic character, he’s a great person and more than deserving of the honor of being recognized in the honorable mention in the All-State Band.”

Along with all his other band activities, Brown also takes private lessons and is doing two solos for Solo Ensemble this year.

“[Solo Ensemble is] a festival where you get to perform a solo for some judges who say if it’s good or not good. If it’s good you get a medal and you can go to an All-State level for that,” Brown said.

Brown says that he usually spends an hour or two a day practicing for band, spending even more time on the weekends. Since Brown is in percussion, this means he gets to play a variety of different percussion instruments, ranging from chimes, windchimes, tambourines, triangles, multiple types of drums and more.

“I think timpani [is my favorite]. Steel drums, woodblocks and snare drums are also pretty cool,” Brown said.

For Brown, music is a very important aspect of his day-to-day life.

“[Band means] a lot to me. A lot of my friendships came from it. Music is just a really big part of my life and band is also a very big part of my life,” Brown said. “It’s one of my favorite things to do ever, especially marching band. It makes me happy. It gives me purpose and motivation.”