As first chair for the All-State Honor Band, Foothill senior Kassra Rafiee is the number one bassoonist in California and has received merit scholarships to exclusive band camps for his talent.

However, although he obviously spends much time practicing, he still has time for laughs.

“The bassoon is sometimes called the farting bed post,” Rafiee said while waiting for his reed to soak.

After a laugh, he admits that he can make light saber noises with the bassoon, and that he has reenacted a light saber scene using the bassoon for the noise effects.

Rafiee was a big fan of “Star Wars” in middle school, but now he “kind of grew out of it, but I still like the movies.”

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Middle school was also the time when Rafiee started playing the bassoon. He started playing the bassoon in his middle school band. Originally, he was in the saxophone section, but he ended up switching because the band needed more bassoonists.

After seven years of playing, he has come far with the bassoon. Currently, Rafiee is the featured soloist for the Santa Barbara Youth Symphony. This prestigious position was obtained through performing a concerto that was judged by a panel of three experts and the players with the top three scores were awarded with the opportunity to be featured soloists.

Rafiee has also played in the All-State Honor Band in the seventh, eighth, tenth, 11th and 12th grades. With two four-hour practices a day it was stressful, but also fun, according to Rafiee, and he also made many new friends and got to play an extraordinary concert at the end of the week.

Rafiee is also using music for his senior hero project at Foothill through the Randy California Project, which allows low-income elementary schools to access musical education for their students through the creation of an elementary school band.

Rafiee is planning to play music in college and hopes to go to Boston University, UC Irvine, or USC, and plans to double major in music and a subject yet to be decided.

Many are impressed with his skills on the bassoon.

“Kassra is a phenomenal bassoon player, said senior Brent Ocker. “He’s been playing for longer than most high schoolers keep with an instrument. I’ve heard him on a couple of occasions and was thoroughly pleased with his performance.”

According to friend Nick Herson, also a Foothill senior, Rafiee gets texts from colleges asking him to take part in their music programs.

“I mean, come on, colleges are texting the guy for his bassoon skills! That says something,” Herson said.

Whether he’s making light saber noises or playing concerto pieces, Rafiee will continue to rock the bassoon.