Justin Vernon of Bon Iver on Music and Arts Education
How did you get into making music, and how did arts education (or lack thereof) affect you and your music?
My Dad taught me a few John Prine songs on the guitar when I was a kid; it all started there. Well, specifically, high school Jazz band was everything for me musically. It really taught me the correct way to be apart of and operate in a musical ensemble, mentally and emotionally.
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Being the director of “said high school jazz ensemble”, I can tell you Justin (and the rest of his bandmates from Mount Vernon) was a great student and just a wonderful young man in the band. It’s very gratifying to see the success he’s having now and to think I was a small part of his musical background. Congrats and continued success, Justin!
Hi Bruce – thank you for taking an interest in the site and Justin’s post. It’s very cool to hear from someone who knew him way back when!
YEAH! I am an art teacher at the HS level and a big fan of your music (happy it was on Chuck)! I love to hear that fine arts influenced you in a positive way! My son wants to be a professional musician and has been in jazz band! I can’t wait to show this to him!
Justin will be appearing with the current Memorial High School Jazz band in April. I am very excited to see him perform where he got started! More details here at VolumeOne.