When walking past Music Hall on the southwest end of campus, students may notice a different kind of sound coming from both trumpet and jazz musicians.

This summer the trumpet and jazz departments underwent a change. The department hired St. Louis native James Bovinette to replace trumpet professor Arthur Swift, who retired at the end of the spring semester.

The move to Ames has been a positive one for Bovinette, his wife and two young daughters. Bovinette was drawn to ISU because he liked what he saw in the school’s environment.

Iowa State “was what I was looking for; it has good balance between liberalism and conservativism,” Bovinette said.

With a background in both professional performance in St. Louis, and performance teaching at the University of Illinois and Illinois Weslyan in Burlington, Bovinette will be bringing a mid-western flavor to the classes he is teaching.

This influence will only be further intensified by the fact that he got his bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of Southern Illinois in Evanston and worked on his doctorate at the University of Illinois.

In addition to his primary job of running the trumpet studio, Bovinette is also going to try to organize improvisational combos and replace drum professor Barry Larkin as director of the university’s Jazz Bands.

Even though ISU does not offer a degree in Jazz, Bovinette said he has goals for the betterment of the program by using student input

to take advantage of the abilities and talents already in the program.

“I would like to expand the program so we can offer as much as possible under the existing system,” Bovinette said. “The program is hungry to expand; I

am looking forward to working here.”

In addition to the expansion of the jazz program, Bovinette said he would like to establish a more creative atmosphere which will alter the Jazz Band’s sound through improvisation, fusing styles and more modern music.

“I hope to bring a fresh approach to the department,” Bovinette said.

This new approach is already finding support among some members of the group, including Jessica Swanson, a sophomore in music, who plays baritone saxophone in the Jazz Band.

“He’s a nice guy who’s interested in getting the job done, but he doesn’t mind having a little fun along the way,” Swanson said.