For the first time in decades, a West High student was accepted into both the choir and band ensembles in the All-State Music Festivals. However, this didn’t happen in just one year. Nathan Butler ’27 has been a performer for almost all his life.

Though he started with a simple piano lesson, Butler is now involved in West High’s musical, choral and theater arts departments. Just this year, he played Prentiss in Theatre West’s production of “Peter and the Starcatcher” and led the Trojan Marching Band as a drum major. 

A key reason for his success is his perfect pitch. Only 4% of music students have this ability, according to a study in Sage Journals, which helps them to identify notes after hearing them. 

“I feel like the best way to describe it is I hear sounds and recognize them in the way that people see colors and recognize them — like I associate the sound for G with ‘G,’ as somebody would associate the color red with the word ‘red,'” Butler said.

However, his perfect pitch is not the only reason for his accomplishments or his passion for music. He spends hours learning, practicing and performing in countless ensembles. From Jazz Ensemble to Vox Novus to SPIT, Butler is certainly not lacking in activities or accolades.

Butler decided to play the flute in fourth grade, when Iowa City Community School District students try different instruments to promote joining the district’s band or orchestra programs. He said he liked the flute’s sound and the ability to play quicker notes more easily than other instruments, but, if he’s being honest, he picked it because it was the opposite of the instrument his brother picked: the tuba.

“I have loved music from a very young age, and all of the people in band are very encouraging and make it a fun experience,” Butler said.

Now, Butler is the first chair of the Wind Ensemble’s flute section, meaning he plays a majority of the solos. He also occasionally plays the piccolo, a smaller, more high-pitched version of the flute.

Band director Brian Zeglis doesn’t conduct Wind Ensemble, but that hasn’t stopped him from noticing Butler’s talent. 

“I’m not the director of his group, but just watching him, he’s always prepared with his stuff. He learns music very quickly, so that’s always very helpful for the rest of his section, that he can kind of recreate things and music so quickly and help them in their learning process. So he definitely serves as a leader in concert band,” Zeglis said.

The All-State Music Festival is known for its rigorous audition process. Butler first auditioned for All-State freshman year, but didn’t get in. Slightly discouraged, he decided to audition for choir the next year, and give band another shot junior year.

Due to the festival’s selectivity, those auditioning spend hours upon hours practicing. Butler said leading up to his band audition, he would practice for about three to four hours a week and attend a weekly instructional lesson.

The time and effort paid off; he was accepted for flute. Despite having already gotten in the previous year for choir, he said, he was even more shocked by his acceptance.

“The second time, I was even less expecting to get in. And then I was like, ‘Wow,’ because it was a different instrument. I didn’t know if I was prepared enough, because I hadn’t seen the competition yet,” he said.

Outside of concert band, Butler is a drum major for the Trojan Marching Band. He decided he wanted to be a drum major his freshman year, when he saw previous drum majors leading the band in a student section cheer known as the “roller coaster.”

“When we did our interview process, we were very impressed with Nathan’s answers on ways to inspire the group to be better, as well as creating the family atmosphere … And I think he did a really good job, as well as the other drum majors, of incorporating those things this year,” Zeglis said.

Butler is also in West’s Jazz Ensemble as a tenor saxophone, a new instrument he had to learn just for jazz band. 

“He’s playing a secondary instrument, but he’s doing it at the level of our highest jazz band. So I think that’s inspiring to other kids, who might not play typical jazz band instruments, that they can do it,” Zeglis said.

Soloing can be intimidating, but Butler’s perfect pitch offers him a little bit of confidence. “It helps during jazz soloing, because I can hear the chords easily, and I know what notes are going to go with it, just through hearing, instead of having to need a sheet put in front of me,” he said.

Gallery • 4 Photos

Katelyn Wehrle

Soloing over "Bolivian Fantasy," Nathan Butler '27 plays the tenor saxophone. Butler performed with Jazz Ensemble Dec. 13 at West High's annual Jazz Café.

Butler has had many roles in Theatre West, but not always as an actor. For four productions, he has brought his instrumental, choral and dance skills from his other activities to life in plays and musicals. 

His freshman year, he played in the pit orchestra for the spring musical, “The Secret Garden.” After seeing his friends from choir having fun in the cast, however, he auditioned for Theatre West’s production of “Chicago” in his sophomore year and was cast as an ensemble member.

“I already had an aptitude towards singing, and I was like, ‘Why not try out this acting thing?’ So I just went for it and auditioned, and then I had a lot of fun putting the show together with everyone. And I was like, ‘You know what? This is where I want to be instead of sitting down in the pit,’” Butler said. 

He also auditioned in the spring, scoring the role of Kurt Von Trapp in “The Sound of Music.” In Theatre West’s most recent production, “Peter and the Starcatcher,” Butler took on the role of Prentiss.

Prentiss is an orphan and the self-appointed leader of the “lost boys.” The role was a jump from Butler’s previous roles, because it came with more plot importance and lines.

“It was a big change, because I had to go from memorizing like five lines to a good 50,” Butler said. “But also it feels different to have a more important role.” 

Theatre West Director Katy Nahra said she enjoyed watching Butler take on a bigger role in the fall play.

“His role as Prentiss in the last show, ‘Peter and the Starcatcher,’ was really fun and amazing, and he just really felt like he took that character and built it from the ground up and made it his own, and it was unique and funny and warm.”

Even before joining Theatre West, Butler had acted in Student-Produced Innovative Theater, West’s student-run theater club that produces two shows a year. His freshman year, he was in “10 Ways to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse,” and he was in “Feed the Whales” his sophomore year. 

This year, he starred in “Squad Goals” as Bailey, an “it” girl auditioning for a failing basketball team. Throughout the years, SPIT has offered him the opportunity to try out fun, more freeing characters while making connections.

“When you’re acting, you have to interact with people. On a day-to-day basis, you’re making these friends that you don’t even have to talk to outside of school; you’re talking with each other in rehearsals and stuff. You just get more connected with people,” Butler said.