We may have found Timpview’s MOST Musical yet.
From 6 AM swim practice to 6 PM band rehearsal, senior Joss McFarland is nothing short of exceptional. He plays lead tenor saxophone in the Advanced Jazz Band, french horn in the Chamber Orchestra, quad drums in Provo City Indoor Percussion, guitar and vocals in his own bands and served as Battery Captain on snare drum in the 2025 Timpview Marching Band.
He started his musical career in 6th grade on the clarinet but began immediately gunning for tenor saxophone. “It just called out to me like none of the other instruments did. Even as a kid I just KNEW that tenor saxophone was the most ripping instrument above all of them.” McFarland recounts. He’s been playing since 7th grade in the jazz band, orchestra and marching band, beginning private lessons during his junior year. He now resides as 1st chair tenor saxophone in the Advanced Jazz Band, earning him most of the solos.
The summer of his freshman year he decided to pick up guitar on a whim and quickly fell in love with it, spending hours messing around and teaching himself. “Everyone plays guitar and so by necessity of course I had to learn it to keep up.” McFarland jokes. “Jokes aside though, I think guitar is a crazy different sound from all other instruments and just such a versatile instrument.”
Since two instruments weren’t enough, he auditioned for Provo City Indoor Percussion on a whim during his sophomore year and got put on the quad drum line. Though he didn’t make it back on the line for his junior year, he was able to get a place on the snare drum for the Timpview marching band season and got put on the quad line for Provo again during his senior year.
I hate to sound redundant, but since three instruments weren’t enough, McFarland needed to further challenge himself and pick up mellophone (a marching hybrid of the french horn) the summer after his sophomore year after coming back from a study abroad. After gaining full marching band proficiency, he decided to transition to play the french horn in a concert band/orchestra setting.
Aside from his instruments, McFarland has had an impressive extracurricular career. He participated in 3 full musicals during his first two years at Timpview. He was also a member of the swim team, recently finishing his senior year season. Additionally, he started and participated in 2 different bands, performing at Battle of the Bands as well as other shows in the area. Perhaps most interestingly, he has written an entire marching band show with the help of Liam Packard. This show will be performed by the Timpview Marching Band in a future season.
McFarland’s biggest inspiration in life is art in all its forms. “Nothing inspires me to live my life to its best and to create my own art quite like seeing human creativity in all its different tiny little forms.” said McFarland. “I think that it is just amazing that we can create things like music or art or architecture that can mean so much to so many people.” He believes in treating everyone with kindness, including yourself. He believes that life is a gift and we need to live it to its fullest. “I love the rain! I love friends, fruit, food. I love bagels especially. I love that feeling you get when you listen to a song that is SO good. I love it when you work/perform with other people. I love art in all its different forms, and I love LOVE!”
After high school he plans to go to study music in university. After undergraduate, he hopes to have either a clear career path in place or continue his studies at a music institution for a graduate degree.
When asked what advice he’d give to younger musicians, McFarland said, “Whether or not you are planning on making music a big part of your life, it is seriously so good for you and so much fun to push yourself and try hard. I think you will find out a lot about yourself as well.” He leaves us with a message that, “If you like doing music, DO IT! It doesn’t have to be your entire life, but, seriously, pursue your passions!”
Joss McFarland is an amazing musician, student and person. He is kind, talented and knows how to appreciate the little things. He’s a great example of living life to the fullest and pursuing your passions, even if there isn’t always a clear path forward. If you’re going to be at Timpview in the next couple years, keep your ears out for a student-written marching band show, and when you watch them perform at homecoming half-time, know that this started from the dream of a music loving high school student.
