Given that senior Mason Oyler is involved in so many different aspects of music — he’s triple majoring in music education, music composition and instrumental performance (percussion) — it makes sense that he got started young.
He, in fact, played the main stage at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival as an eighth grader.
Now, Oyler, who’s been playing percussion instruments since fourth grade and piano (self-taught) since tenth grade, is set to play in his final Jazz Festival in April. The totality of his experiences at U of I, particularly at the Jazz Festival, have created a foundation for his life after college.
“I’ve been fortunate to perform on the main stage every year I’ve been here,” Oyler said. "Whether I’ve played in Chamber Jazz Choir, Jazz Band 1 or Hamp’s Jazz Ambassadors, I’ve had some amazing experiences. Helping with the workshops, giving tours to high school students and talking about U of I’s music program — it’s been an awesome opportunity.”
Starting young
Oyler, who graduated high school in Coeur d’Alene, jokes that he decided to attend U of I mainly because he already knew everyone in the music building.
After attending his first jazz camp at Eastern Washington University the summer after seventh grade, he started playing drums in a jazz band. Although he was only in eighth grade, the group was a high school band at Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy. That year, they won their division, which meant they got to play on the big stage at the Jazz Festival.
After eighth grade, Oyler began attending music camps at U of I, where he started meeting faculty members like Daniel Bukvich, professor of percussion and theory and director of the jazz choir. Bukvich would later instruct Oyler, who drove up from Coeur d’Alene for lessons.
“We got to observe him and how he functioned,” Bukvich said. “You get to know a lot about a student at the camps. Mason had a lot of focus, intensity and leadership qualities for someone his age.”
When it came time to choose a college, Oyler said it was an easy decision to come to U of I because of the relationships he had already established. Another reason it was an easy decision was because he won U of I’s Avista Scholarship as a high school senior (he also won it as a college freshman), presented every year for the top high school vocal and instrumental soloists at the Jazz Festival.
What wasn’t an easy decision was figuring out what he wanted to study. Interested in music composition, but unsure of his options within that career path, Oyler hedged his bet by adding a second major — architecture.
“I was operating on the assumption that getting only a composition degree wouldn’t have been super reliable as far as getting a job,” he said. “And architecture was always interesting to me. I did that for three semesters but then switched over to music education.”
After jumping into the music world with both feet, Oyler’s future is coming into focus.
“It’s hard for some students, but I think you have to come to terms with the fact that you are super passionate about music,” said Vern Sielert, artistic director for the Jazz Festival. “You have to let go of the questions like ‘what if’ or ‘what am I going to do?’ And for someone like Mason, who has so many things he’s good at, things usually have a way of working out.”
Composing his future
Oyler has been a fixture at the Jazz Festival during his time at U of I, but his collegiate musical journey has been more than just soulful riffs and creative improvisations.
Aside from playing with jazz groups, he’s played piano for solo vocalists, performed with the wind ensemble and also sings.
And as much as he loves to perform, he still sees musical composition as being part of his future.
“One of my compositions was used last year at the Jazz Festival,” Oyler said. “Seeing my music played there, it flicked a switch in my head that maybe this is what I should be doing.”
In addition to writing music for jazz groups on campus, he’s also been scoring orchestral music for Bukvich.
“He’s been my copyist for three years,” Bukvich said. “He produces all of the individual scores for each instrument, which is a great way to understand composition.”
As Oyler looks forward to his final Jazz Festival experience — which, in addition to his usual activities, will include being the main speaker at the Red Carnation Reception — he continues to refine his post-graduation plans.
This fall, Oyler plans to student teach music education in the Coeur d’Alene area. He then wants to play and write music during the first part of 2026 before attending graduate school that fall.
One of my friends gave me a quote that says ‘even if you teach music, you aren’t a music teacher — you’re a life teacher and music just happens to be your medium.’ That really resonates with me. I want to have that kind of impact on students. I want to be the reason that somebody teaches music one day.
Mason Oyler
Lionel Hampton School of Music senior
Whether he ends up teaching, composing or both, Oyler wants to inspire students to follow their musical journey, much in the way he was encouraged by his experiences at U of I.
“One of my friends gave me a quote that says ‘even if you teach music, you aren’t a music teacher — you’re a life teacher and music just happens to be your medium’,” Oyler said. “That really resonates with me. I want to have that kind of impact on students. I want to be the reason that somebody teaches music one day.”