Meet Jatayo Jones.

Grow Music is so proud of this 2023 graduating senior!

JATAYO JONES

Jatayo Jones began playing cello and taking lessons in 5th grade. He clearly loved music from the get-go and has been a steadfast, rising star ever since!

Tayo has been section leader in both MYO & MYS (Missoula Youth Orchestra/Symphony) and has auditioned into the cello section of the MT All-State Orchestra for 4 years. He joined the Cello Mafia 6 years ago and has been a wonderful addition to the group since. Tayo's love and enthusiasm for the ensemble and the music has always been obvious and he very naturally transitioned from learner to leader. Tayo has been my main assistant with Cello Mafia for the last 2 years and has been a great support to the entire group.

"Being able to {play and} teach through Cello Mafia has been a great experience because it first allowed me to get comfortable playing in groups and gave me the time and resources needed to feel comfortable playing my instrument. Because I was able to start teaching in Cello Mafia, I was then confident enough to teach private lessons of my own." - J. Jones

His creativity, love, and community-minded approach to the arts doesn't stop there - Jatayo really enjoys theater! He recently finished stage directing for Sentinel High School's production of CLUE, and can be seen playing in the pit of MATILDA, produced by Missoula Children's Theater, Inc.

Most recently, Tayo received the great news of being offered a full-tuition scholarship to attend music school at the University of Montana! He will be attending this Fall and studying cello with Dr. Adam Collins in the UM School of Music. I am thrilled at his accomplishments and am excited to see the fruits of his continued commitment to the arts. Go, Tayo!

HEAR JATAYO PLAY!! 
THIS THURSDAY, APRIL 27th, JATAYO WILL BE PERFORMING ELGAR'S CELLO CONCERTO (1st Movement) with the Missoula Youth Symphony, directed by Mr. Ryan Davis. 7:30PM in the Hellgate High School Auditorium - free and open to the public.  Not to be missed!