Miles Benson ’26 wasn’t always loyal to the trombone.

“I originally started playing a different instrument in sixth grade called the euphonium,” Benson said. “Then, junior or senior year of high school, I also started playing bass trombone to play jazz, because euphonium isn’t really an instrument that is played in jazz commonly. So I did both, then I started full time with trombone.”

After his brief stint with the euphonium, Benson proclaimed his affinity for the trombone and hasn’t looked back. He says he loves how surprisingly similar the instrument is to one’s voice, particularly in how trombones too can be classified into soprano, alto and bass.

“I think my favorite thing about it is how it harmonizes with other instruments,” he said. “Playing the trombone is similar to singing.”

Benson credits his robust high school band program for pushing his music career forward. It continues to shape his relationship to music, especially as he figures out where he wants to take his next steps.

“I came from a pretty good high school program in Minnesota,” he said. “The program was large, had good conductors and was pretty well supported too.”

Now, Benson hopes to help other schools with their band programs, as he enters the Bowdoin Teacher Scholar program (BTS) with a specific focus on music. He is the first student to enter the program with this particular passion in mind.

“My [high school] teachers were good, but I don’t think I wanted to become one because of them but more because of the space that they fostered and the experience of band,” Benson said.

Through the BTS program, he was able to rediscover his passions for teaching and music by working part-time at Mt. Ararat High School in Topsham.

“I really like to teach. I’ve always wanted to teach, and I wanted to get more into it,” Benson said. “I heard about the program, and I talked to them about it, and I guess they liked me enough to support me in that.”

Benson helps out in the band room most Mondays, working with students most recently on guitar.

“It’s been really nice to look again at the guitar because I started playing it during [Covid-19],” he said. “I’m excited for graduation, so I can focus on other things, too, because the next step in the journey is learning all of the other instruments because that’s what you have to do to be a band teacher.”

The next step, before he begins mastering new instruments, will require Benson to stay in Maine after graduation to take part in student teaching with BTS in the spring of 2027. He reiterated his excitement at the prospect of learning more instruments, especially because it can help manage large school and class sizes.

“Oftentimes, especially in Maine, you can’t just specialize in one thing because of the school size,” Benson said. “You have to be a jack of all trades.”

Benson looks forward to expanding his understanding of new and different instruments once his focus can stretch beyond the trombone.

“I think at this moment in my life, most of my attention has been on the trombone,” he said.

This specific focus has been especially sharp as of late, since he was recently admitted into the Augusta Symphony Orchestra.

“The Augusta Symphony Orchestra started up a few years ago, and they meet up in Augusta every Wednesday,” he said. “It’s mostly just members of the community who play instruments, and there are a couple music educator people, too.… They wanted to come together and have an orchestra that was not professional and with people from all over.”

Benson has appreciated the opportunity to play music with yet another group. He currently plays for Bowdoin’s orchestra, band and trombone quartet.

“Here, at Bowdoin, you get to pick your own adventure, which is nice as an artist,” he said. “It’s been amazing to really take advantage of the services that [the College] provides and the ways they can support you.”

At Bowdoin, Benson is a music performance and German double major with an education minor. For the last few summers, he earned the chance to perform at a Canadian classical music festival, as well as studying abroad in Vienna last year in a performance program. Additionally, Benson has recently begun experimenting with conducting.

“I am starting my journey as a new conductor,” he said. “I am conducting a piece for the Bowdoin Concert Band and the Mt. Ararat High School band.”

Overall, Benson is looking forward to the future, wherever these many paths may take him. He is hoping to spread his love for music with others in a time that, he says, feels particularly important.

“I feel that [band] is a very important thing to continue to share with young people, especially in this time that is kind of fraught and needs more art,” he said.