From Sioux Falls to Carnegie Hall, high school senior prepares to take the stage

According to Gavin Sturm, no beginning musician greets the fifth grade band director with the words “I want to play the euphonium.”

Instead, the “honor” of hefting the tuba-like instrument goes to a student who doesn’t already have a strong preference for the clarinet or the cornet or the flute or the snare drum. And in Gavin’s case, it was even simpler than that.

“Actually, I started on the euphonium so I could sit with one of my friends,” the Lincoln High School senior said.

But with the euphonium and subsequently the bass trombone, Gavin has found his place in the world of music. And it has filled his weekends. This past weekend, for example, Gavin traveled to Minneapolis to participate in the University of Minnesota High School Honor Band. As first-chair euphonium, he was featured in one of the pieces the band performed. On Feb. 19-20 in Iowa City, Iowa, he’ll play first-chair euphonium with the Iowa Honor Band. On Feb. 25-26 in Brookings, Gavin will play first-chair bass trombone in the South Dakota Honor Band. He was receive a four-year-participant award at the event.

This week, he headed to New York City to play the euphonium in the 2022 High School Honors Performance Series at Carnegie Hall. It brings together students in grades nine through 12 from around the world and will culminate in an instrumental concert Saturday.

“I’ve gotten letters about it in the past, but this was the first year I decided to audition and be a part of it,” Gavin said. “I was really just looking for performance opportunities, to boost my resume and boost my musical experience before I go to college. And performing in Carnegie Hall has always been kind of one of my dreams as well.”

Gavin’s interest in music became apparent in early childhood, fostered by his mother, Sherry Korthals, who worked for the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra as a stagehand. She would take Gavin backstage, giving him a unique look at the musicians and how the music came together. Korthals also would play and sing songs to Gavin on the family’s small digital keyboard.

A jazz camp at the University of Sioux Falls with famed saxophonist Chris Vidala also made an impact.

“He was a saxophonist for Chuck Mangione, and he played fun music,” Gavin said. “He was such a great mentor, teacher and director. I had such a fun time.”

Vidala died in 2019, Gavin said, and that hit him hard.

For several years, Gavin has taken private lessons, bass trombone with Vance Shoemaker and euphonium with Rolyn Beaird. Shoemaker describes Gavin as talented and a hard worker. He called Gavin one of his top pupils in his 50 years as an instructor.

The bass trombone is a challenging instrument, Shoemaker said. It demands keen coordination and physical stamina.

“You don’t just move from trombone to bass trombone,” said Shoemaker, a retired Augustana University professor who still teaches at Northwestern College of Orange City, Iowa, and Dordt College of Sioux Center, Iowa. “You have to work quite a bit on the different positions for the two different bells and also how to energize yourself to get as much air in your body as possible.”

Lincoln High School band director Dan Carlson describes Gavin as one of the most naturally gifted students to come through in his 23 years of teaching music.

“We’re really lucky here at Lincoln that we have a lot of outstanding musicians,” Carlson said. “Gavin goes beyond the notes and rhythms and into really creative musical art. He plays so soulfully, it’s a real treat. It’s very satisfying to be able to hear such beautiful sounds coming from the euphonium or bass trombone.”

Gavin describes the sounds that come from a euphonium as mellow and lyrical. It’s almost more difficult to make a euphonium sound bad than it is to sound good on the instrument, he said.

“I like how expressive I can be on it,” Gavin said. “Also what’s appealing is you can also play really, really technical passages.”

Gavin used school district euphoniums until last June when Korthals purchased one as an early gift for his December birthday. He tried out multiple instruments until he found one that fit his sound. For musicians, having their own instrument really enhances what they can play, Gavin said.

He also owns his own bass trombone, and it’s that instrument that likely will fulfill his dreams of playing one day in a professional symphony orchestra, preferably in Chicago, Cleveland or New York City.

“The euphonium isn’t a standard orchestral instrument, it’s more of a side thing,” Gavin said. “The trombone’s tone is pronounced and regal. One downside to being a euphonium player is you never get the super-loud exciting passages. The bass trombone is the loudest instrument that’s not percussion in the standard orchestral lineup. In jazz band, the bass trombone can overpower everybody. It’s such a strong, powerful instrument.”

Gavin works at the Jimmy John’s restaurant at 69th Street and Minnesota Avenue and plays lacrosse in his spare time. There’s not much of that. Last summer, he performed with The Bluecoats, a world-class nonprofit youth performing arts organization from Canton, Ohio. He was one of only two high school students from across the country chosen to participate. From that experience, Gavin said, he learned how to overcome challenges in a healthy way. He also formed friendships and relationships with other musicians that will last a lifetime, he said.

Currently, while he’s waiting to hear from The Bluecoats again, Gavin also is focusing on his future. He has narrowed his options to one of three colleges: Indiana University, the University of Iowa or Northwestern University in Chicago.

Through it all, he has depended on Korthals’ support.

“My mom helps me apply, she helps me with application fees, she comes on college trips,” he said. “Her input and wisdom is helping me out and will throughout the college process.”