At Sage Creek, note by note, sophomore Ej Hardy is making his mark on the music program. His passion not only falls into performing but also conducting.

“Ej’s always just been a natural leader, he’s thinking about pursuing music education as a career, so I’m trying to get him involved in that side of things as much as possible,” band and orchestra teacher Juline Quinones said, “He leads our jazz band, conducts at our concerts and runs some rehearsals.”

Aside from conducting and his future endeavors of wanting to be a freelance musician, Hardy also enjoys playing the bass and interacting with his classmates.

“He’s a bubble of happiness, his laugh is super contagious, it’s really hard not to laugh while he’s laughing and he’s overall a really fun person to be with,” fellow musician Josh Hamilton said.

Other classmates or rather, close friends, note how Hardy’s overall presence while in class and his love of music brings them closer.

“I’m good at applying musical ideas, and he’s very good at creating musical ideas, so [those] two traits go hand in hand and both of us are very interested in the musical field so naturally we just bond closer,” friend Nick Tappin said, “He sets a standard for what a good musician is what being your Bobcat B.E.S.T is in the music program.”

Through this program, Hardy feels like he is growing as a musician and a person and feels as though he has finally found his passion.