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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us June 14, 2006 JAXON WILLIAMS plays his guitar in front of the Ashland High School; he is an award winning musician. Julie Gelien | Daily Tidings Multi-talented AHS grad plans next steps By Sarah Golden Tidings Correspondent Every high school has students who excel in sports and the arts. And there’s always someone so likable that his classmates certify it with a vote. In Ashland High School’s class of 2006, one young man combined all those attributes. Jaxon Williams won three state titles in the last two years, two in music and one in track. The 18-year-old capped his senior year by being elected prom king and playing guitar at last Friday’s graduation ceremony in Lithia Park. In a few days, he’ll release his second CD. “This has been the glory year for me,” said Williams, the son of Doug and Ronda Williams of Ashland. “Everything that could have gone well, went well. It was the best situation it possibly could have been. It was the greatest possible year.” People who know Williams say hard work was a key to his success. One of six children in a music-loving family, he started playing classical guitar 11 years ago. In his last three years of high school, he competed in guitar at the State Conference, an event sponsored by the Oregon Musical Educators Association. He won first place in both his junior and senior years, after not placing as a sophomore. “It was inspiring” “My sophomore year I didn’t know what to expect, so I didn’t have very good pieces prepared,” said Williams. “Overall, it was a good learning experience. I was able to see what the competition was like, and it was inspiring to see people my age who do really well.” Williams’s guitar teacher, Joe Thompson, remembers how his student responded to that first loss. “The day after he got back, he told me that he was going to go back to the competition his next year, his junior year, and he was going to win,” Thompson recalled. “When he was there, he saw the strength of the other guitarists and realized that he had to step up his efforts to do that. He made that challenge for himself, and the next year he went back and he won first place.” This year, Williams returned to the annual competition to take first place again. “It was kind of hard this year because I had nowhere to go but down,” he said with a smile. Thompson, who has worked with Williams for six years, recognized the youngster’s musical talent from an early age. “It was clear from the beginning that he was special, very talented and he had an interesting composition,” said Thompson. Jaxon Williams displays awards he has received for playing the guitar. Work ethic But what really made Williams stand out was his work ethic. “He never missed a lesson and he was always prepared for his lessons,” his teacher recalled. “He put the time into the instrument to grow and develop.” Williams attributes his ability to a solid technical foundation of classical guitar from his first teacher, Betsy Farman, and the support of family and friends. His mother, Ronda, is a piano teacher. “Whenever I would have a week where I just didn’t want to practice, my family and friends would tell me, ‘Just stick with it and it will be worth it in the future,’” said Williams. In fact, if he could do it over again, he would have spent even more time practicing when he was younger. “I could have put a lot more work in and could have been a lot better,” he said. His guitar teacher also recalls Williams mentioning that he aspired to win district competitions in track and field. He not only did that, he exceeded his goal to place first in the discus during the state competition. Personal best “That was a lot different than the classical guitar — there was always a lot of confidence with guitar,” said Williams, who compensated for being smaller than the other athletes by working hard all four years. The day before the district event, he changed his form slightly. The shift resulted in a personal best of 10 feet, winning him first place that day and a place at the state competition. “At state, my first throw was a perfect and I got another personal best of 10 more feet,” said Williams. With that personal best came another state title. “I’ve always loved to do athletics,” said Williams. “I love competing in things.” Now that he has graduated from high school, Williams plans to stay in Ashland and work this summer. His second CD will be available soon online at <www.jeffersonguitar.org>. He plans to play a solo recital on August 12 as a farewell to the community and as a way to raise funds before heading off to Brigham Young University as a music major. (The recital location is not yet set.) “Do what you love” “I’m going to do general ed. and test out the waters of the music world to see if that’s what I really want to do,” said Williams. “If it really is, then maybe I’ll move to a conservatory or school that emphasizes music.” As for career plans, right now Williams thinks he would like to teach guitar at a university and, when not in the classroom, perform internationally. Looking back at his achievements, there’s one that matters most to him. “My greatest high school success is that I didn’t turn into somebody that I don’t like,” Williams said. “I’ve become somebody over my high school years who I would like to be, somebody that doesn’t worry about everybody else. I’ve reached all my goals.” Williams has these words of advice for anyone whose high school years still lie ahead: “Don’t worry about what everyone else thinks about you, because it doesn’t matter. Do what makes you happy and do what you love, and things will work out for you.” DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Ceramic Piggy Banks Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Mailing Lists Custom Made Computers Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Student Loans Hammocks Water Filter Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams