Prodigy: West Vigo teen already an accomplished composer

Apr. 12—When West Vigo High School senior Jack Nesser took up the flute — not his first instrument — between sixth and seventh grade his grandmother located a flute for a mere $2.

Today, he plays a significantly upgraded version of the flute for $3,500, which he said is on the low end of pricing for a high quality flute.

Nesser has expanded his love of music to include composing music for chamber ensembles, bands and choirs. His most recent composition, "...yet so close," will premiere at 2 p.m. Sunday in a program called "Artistry in Sound" at The Swope Art Museum. The performance is a fundraiser for the Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra.

"Artistry in Sound" is a mash-up of music and painting. The Angelus Duo will perform music inspired by Paul Jenkins' painting "Phenomena Near Baber Woods," which will be on display during the performance. The duo — sisters Melissa and Melanie Mashner — will close the program with "...yet so close."

Nesser is inspired by Jenkins' work by examining how Jenkins himself is inspired to create it. His composition is a sensory reaction to the Baber Woods, beginning with relaxing long tones from a flute, before a harp tremolo kicks things into gear.

The piece "brought in my own thoughts on nature, and how we are becoming more and more distant from nature," he explained. "I've been thinking about why we have grown away from it and the negative things that are happening as a result of that." Nesser aimed to conclude his work in an unresolved tenor.

Nesser's music has won a number of awards. His first composition, 2021's "To New Beginnings," won the first annual Heidelberg University Honor Band Call for Scores, was a finalist in the first annual Grand Mesa Publications Band Composition and Arranging Contest and won second place in the American Prize for composition.

"On the Chippewa," written in 2022, the year he made the flute his principle instrument, won the Hayes School of Music Composition Competition in the High School Band Division.

Trumpet was Nesser's first instrument, but it became onerous to play once his teeth were subjected to braces.

As a freshman, Nesser was the first West Vigo High student to make the All-State Band since 1972, then playing clarinet. When he found playing bass clarinet wasn't much of a challenge — "I felt kind of bored," he said — he switched to flute.

He's played with a variety of ensembles — some of which have performed his compositions — but has most enjoyed performing with the All-State bands.

"You are the top high-school musicians from across the state from all these big high schools. ... The best musicians in the state are coming and playing together in an ensemble, and we're able to play music that colleges are performing," Nesser explained.

He added, "Being surrounded by other people my age able to play at that level is the most rewarding and the most fun. ... We already share a common background of the love of making music, so the bond is just instant."

Nesser has enjoyed a longstanding relationship with Samantha Johnson-Helms, the executive director of the Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra. She connected him with music professors at Butler University, which he'll attend this fall, as well as the Bloomington-based Ivory Winds, who commissioned his chamber piece "The Adjectives Suite."

"She's been a very — pun intended — instrumental part in my musical career," Nesser said.

Inspiration for his compositions can come from unlikely places. "Sunshine River" is based on an orange highlighter doodle he made on his desk.

"It was a scribbled V like a triangle, and I said, 'That looks like ... the sun hitting the water and reflecting off and the river's orange,' and then I thought, 'Ooh, "Sunshine River" would be a cool name for a piece.'"

He flirted with minimalism on "The River Constellation," a flute choir about a constellation of stars.

"I wanted to explore minimalism and what traveling in a river through space would sound like," he said.

Nesser also creates compositions for friends when they graduate high school. One of his first chamber pieces for a fellow musician, "Jasmine's Waltz," can be heard on his website, jacknesser.com.

Sometimes he lets musicians decide what his music is up to. He has a series of compositions called "Fill in the Blank."

"The groups that have performed those works like how they're able to connect their personal connections with the music," Nesser said. "Instead of me telling them what the piece is about, they get to decide for themselves."

Expect Nesser's inspirations and artistry to expand further in the future.

"It's important for me to take advantage of exploring who I am as an artist and what I want to make and what works," he said.

David Kronke can be reached at 812-231-4232 or at david.kronke@tribstar.com.