A Vashon High School musician has been named one of the top saxophonists in the state.

Brady Stinson, a sophomore at VHS, recently placed first on the baritone saxophone at the Washington Music Educators Association (WMEA) State Solo Competition.

At the contest, Stinson competed against 21 other top tenor and baritone saxophonists from high schools around the state. He said he was pleased to garner the top award.

“It’s a big thing to have on my resume,” he said.

Stinson has been playing the saxophone since eighth grade and takes private lessons on the baritone sax and clarinet. Earlier this year, he placed second at the district solo competition, performing “Czardas,” a technically challenging piece by Italian composer Vittorio Monti.

He likely would have won that contest, he said, had he not changed a note in the piece to a higher octave and then missed that note  during his performance.

“(The judge) really did not like that I took a risk on it,” he said.

The blunder landed Stinson as an alternate to state, but two weeks later he found out he’d get to perform at state after all.

At the state competition, on April 25 at Central Washington University, Stinson again performed “Czardas,” accompanied by VHS band teacher Ken Quehrn. But this time, he nailed the high note.

“It had a little bit of hesitation, but it did come out,” he said. “The judges didn’t say anything about it in their notes.”

To compete at State, Brady had to miss performing with the VHS jazz ensemble, led by Todd Zimberg, at the Reno Jazz Festival. It turned out the Vashon group placed first in its category.

Stinson was sad to miss the jazz contest, but said, “Going to state, for me, was bigger than that.”

Quehrn likened Stinson’s success to a high school sports team winning a state tournament. The award was especially impressive, he added, because Stinson is a sophomore. Most musicians who win State are seniors.

“Brady is extremely musical and has a maturity to his playing that I haven’t seen or heard in a student his age in a very, very long time,” he said.

— Natalie Martin