Questions 21–25

Questions 21–25

Read the text and questions below.
For each question, mark the correct letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet.

JAZZ
By Katie Atkins, aged 14

I play the trumpet in my school jazz band. Last month we held a jazz competition with
bands from local high schools – and our band won! Each band had their own costumes,
ranging from black school uniforms like my band wore, to brightly-coloured T-shirts. We
didn’t look much like adult professional bands, but all of us were used to performing in
competitions, so the quality of playing was amazing, especially considering everyone
was so young. Players from each band even created new tunes right there on stage. It
was exciting to watch – but even better when my band played on stage! We have a
great jazz band at my school, but not everyone who wants to play in it gets accepted –
only about half, in fact. But anyone who’s keen to play goes to jazz practice before
school, and we often spend time together after school, listening to jazz and learning its
language. There are also trips to jazz summer camps across the country – I’ve been to
a couple and learnt a lot. Adults are often surprised that young people are getting
interested in jazz. My music teacher thinks it’s because pop music isn’t challenging
enough for people like me who are serious about music. But I find it exciting because
it’s both new and old at the same time – you can create your own music, but you also
feel you’re part of its history, as you’re playing on stage in the same way as great jazz
performers before you. My school’s really lucky because we have great teachers, and
parents who’ve supported us all the way. Without them, we’d never get anywhere with
our music!

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