How does one become a classical composer at age 12?
 
In Lauren Lofton's case, all it took was a little curiosity and the right download to his computer.
 
"I stumbled across the app called MuseScore," said Lofton, now 17 and a Cheney High School junior. "I started by taking some Mozart and Beethoven, and put the notes in the application software. I'd hear what would come back out. I kind of analyzed it and thought, 'Maybe I can replicate it.'"
 
Lofton, who lived in California at the time, immersed himself in music composition. With no formal training but an understanding of how to read music, he composed two symphonies before joining the band as a freshman at Rancho Cucamonga High School.
 
Since moving to Kansas during the second semester that year, Lofton has become an integral part of Cheney band teacher Travis Johnson's program. And Lofton's "Symphony No. 3," which he composed amid that transition, recently won the Kansas Music Educators Association Composition Competition.
 
Lofton is the Capitol Federal True Blue® Student of the Week.
 
Lofton, a member of Cheney's scholars bowl and bowling teams, said his family gravitates toward sports, and that he had few strong musical influences. But his enjoyment of classical music enticed him to write his own pieces.
 
His first symphony took six months to compose. "And it sounded horrible," he said. The follow-up took just two weeks, and Lofton noticed improvement.
 
"For the most part, I was self-taught," said Lofton, who has also composed a violin concerto. "I've made plenty of mistakes. I would look up a YouTube video here and there, not really for how to do it, but just to watch everyone else's approach to it. Then I would adapt at some point in time."
 
Lofton spent about three months combining the musical elements on "Symphony No. 3," a composition over 30 minutes in length that was written for a full symphony orchestra. At Johnson's urging, Lofton entered it into the KMEA's annual composition competition. A portion of the piece is slated to be performed at the KMEA's In-Service Workshop in February.
 
"Lauren has got an incredible understanding of harmony and the way music works," Johnson said. "To be quite honest, it's his own curiosity and an incredible amount of natural talent at work."
 
Lofton's primary instrument as a musician is the trumpet. But he plays myriad instruments as part of Cheney's concert, marching and pep bands. He is part of the school's drum line and brass and percussion ensembles.
 
"The marching band music is usually easier, but it's fun to do all the formations on the field," Lofton said. "With concert band, the music tends to be a lot calmer, but at the same time it takes a little bit more effort to make everything sound perfect."
 
Johnson, who helped facilitate independent composition instruction for Lofton, asked his student to write music the Cheney marching band plans to perform in the 2022 Kansas Bandmasters Association competition. Lofton said most of the project is complete.
 
"I gladly said yes," Lofton said. "I've never had my music actually performed, so this would be a great way to get that done. It'll be a learning thing at the same time to see how things I've done on the orchestra side translate over to marching band."
 
Lofton aspires to someday teach band students while continuing to compose music. His ability to produce a contest-winning piece not originally composed for entry into a competition hints at his potential.
 
"I think I can probably confidently say I'll never have another student like Lauren come through my band program," Johnson said. "The gifts that he has are absolutely amazing, specifically his gift as a composer."