Students walking through the Cypress Hall breezeway stop and gather around IU junior James Wilder as he plays his ?saxophone.
He takes requests from his small audience and plays songs ranging from Christmas music to Ariana Grande.
If he doesn’t recognize a song, he’ll play the first few parts of the chorus on his phone. Within seconds, he’s playing the song based off what he can hear.
Wilder is a telecommunications student with a minor in jazz studies. He plays for the Marching Hundred, as well as the jazz and funk group Soul Revue.
But playing outside is just for fun, Wilder said.
“I was always fascinated by the tunnels under Union Street,” he said. “I just wondered what it would sound like to play ?saxophone in those tunnels. One day, I just went out and did it.”
Wilder receives a variety of reactions to his performances, but he said they’re never ?negative.
Some students walk by without saying anything, just smiling and waving, he said.
But others stick around and listen to him play.
“I can play for hours, but I’d rather play something everyone knows so that you’ll enjoy the experience with me,” Wilder said.
Wilder first started playing the saxophone in sixth grade. He said he started out just like everyone else by joining the middle school band.
At first he wanted to play the drums, but his mother convinced him to play the ?saxophone.
“It was until later when I realized this instrument is phenomenal,” he said. “I love this. I can play whatever I want on it.”
He stuck with the instrument throughout middle school in Indianapolis and performed with the children’s choir at his church.
His breakthrough came in eighth grade when he realized his talent on the instrument. Wilder played in the marching band for four years of high school before applying to IU.
Wilder enlisted in the army in the spring of 2012, and after his first semester at IU, he completed basic training at Fort Jackson in South Carolina.
After completing his basic training, he went on to study at the Army School of Music in Virginia.
“It was one of the best decisions of my life,” he said. “I would definitely be a different person if I didn’t join the military. Being in the military humbled me and taught me discipline and self-respect.”
Studying at the Army School of Music gave Wilder the chance to play and work with musicians at all levels and from across the ?country.
While in the military setting, he said being in such an environment taught him lessons as both a musician and a person.
“I felt like I was a remodeled person from what I was my freshman year at IU,” he said. “I definitely started being the man I saw myself being back when I was a kid.”
Just days after graduating the Army School of Music in 2013, Wilder returned to IU for his second ?semester.
He rejoined Soul Revue, which is a musical performance group through the African American Arts Institute that plays both on campus and at other colleges in the United States.
Wilder has been involved with the group since arriving at IU but took a break this semester to join the Marching Hundred.
But after this break, he said he couldn’t wait to get back to performing with the group next semester.
“The mission of the Soul Revue is to spread peace and unity not only in the African-American community, but all cultures,” he said. “We want people who listen to get a fire that makes them want to do something. It’s about the message.”
Wilder hopes to start a band in Bloomington one day and play at some of the venues around town.
After graduating, he wants to perform for top-level musicians.
But before he moves into the spotlight, students can hear him play in breezeways and other corners around campus.
This story has been corrected. The IU Soul Revue is part of the African American Arts Institute. The IDS regrets this error.
