2021 Arts Award: Luke Martin
by Katy Gilmore ‘24
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Luke Martin ‘21
Majors: Physics and Mathematics
Minor: Music
Tell me a bit about yourself!
I’m from New Hampshire. I am a physics and math double major, and I minor in music. My primary artistic focus is jazz. I mostly play trumpet and keys but also guitar and bass. At BC, I’ve played all four years in b0p! and the Wind Ensemble. Not this year, but the other years I played in Combos with the Music Department as well.
Could you talk about why you’ve chosen to stay involved with the arts on campus? You said you were a music minor; how have you then been able to incorporate the arts into your studies?
I stayed involved in the different ensembles throughout the years because music’s always been kind of a central part of my life. It was just kind of a natural continuation from highschool (where I did the same thing). So, when I got here it felt natural to be in those three ensembles. Since it was such a blast, as it always is, it was pretty easy to keep it up. As for my studies, you need a certain amount of credits to graduate. Instead of picking random classes to fill all the credits that weren’t taken up by the physics and math majors, I figured I’d take music classes and get a music minor out of it.
Is there one musical experience at BC that really stands out to you?
I think meeting a friend of mine who graduated a couple of years before me, Derek Cho, was probably the most influential moment for me. He was a killer player, and we spent a lot of time doing jam sessions. He actually introduced me to his teacher who was a trumpet player. I started doing lessons with that teacher, and he made a huge impact on my playing. I’d say the friendship I developed with him was very influential because it positively impacted my playing and he’s a great and inspiring person.
The whole environment here is pretty collaborative, especially in the Bands Department (in the Music Department too, I just have more experience with the Bands Department). That student interaction and collaboration is super key to developing your musical skills. I definitely appreciated that throughout my time here.
That leads into my next question: do you have a mentor or inspiration in the arts?
I’ll echo what I just said about Derek being a huge inspiration and influence on me. Ultimately, Josh Bach (who was our mutual teacher— he’s not in Boston anymore as he recently moved to LA) was a huge influence on my playing. He’s a killer trumpet player. I also studied under Dave Healey here at BC, and he was a pretty big influence on my more technical playing.
Could you talk about what influences your work as a musician? What gets you excited to play music?
I would have to say listening to music. Not just new music, but all kinds of good music whether it’s Hank Mobley in the 50s or Robert Glasper today. Listening to killer players, or even people I know like Derek and Josh who are so much better than myself (people like that who make you feel terrible about your own playing), is kind of an inspiration to work towards. Also, I’m doing my own thing (which is kind of like the new thing now that we’re all locked up and can’t play together) and doing more music production stuff. I’m listening to more modern musicians like Robert Glasper and Moonchild. I’d say that’s an inspiration for the more production kind of things.
You mentioned what you’re doing now throughout the pandemic. Could you describe further how you’ve kept up with your music during these times?
We do the Bands thing where we submit recordings, and the Bands department puts them together. So that’s been kind of how I’m participating at BC. Personally, since I’ve been forced to be in my own house and not play with anyone else, the most logical step was to make music on my own. I can do that through music production software, such as Logic which is the one that I use. It’s a whole new thing. You can get really deep down that rabbit hole. I’ve been doing a lot of music production stuff— making original music by layering myself. It’s super neat hearing you harmonize with yourself in the music production software. That’s been my main avenue of musical work as of late.
What are your plans for the future? Do your next steps after graduation involve music?
I’ll be doing graduate studies at UNH in the fall and then for the next seven years. UNH has a really good music program. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get involved in it first year because I’ll have to be studying for the comp in the program I’ll be going into (which is basically the test I’ll have to pass to stay in). So, I’m not sure how much time I’ll have, but hopefully I’ll eventually get involved in their jazz program because it’s pretty strong.
Do you have any advice for students at BC involved in music or wanting to get involved in music?
Probably find some friends that you can just jam with. My background is more jazz, so that’s kind of how I think. To other jazz musicians, that’s probably the most helpful advice I can give. Find a group of people that you really vibe with. If you can get together (I know it’s hard now) then you can just jam. It’s huge because it helps how you play with each other, and it helps with your own playing and ideas too.
