From joining band and orchestra at Edina High School (EHS) to playing at 7th St. Entry on First Avenue, Max Froehlich and Matthew Smith have each taken the next considerable step in their musical careers. On March 2, these Edina High School alumni took the stage and performed under the spotlight for hundreds of people. Froehlich and Smith had a journey full of the unexpected as they came to terms with the passion and self-advocacy required to be a successful musician. Despite their ups and downs throughout high school and college, Froehlich and Smith hope 7th St. Entry will be their breakthrough—just as it was for Prince.

Where it all started 

Froehlich and Smith’s friendship traces back to middle school, where they started the band Carpet Mode together with additional EHS alumni Christine Whear and Brennan Wedl. While they continued to play for Carpet Mode through high school, both Froehlich and Smith also joined EHS music programs when they arrived at the high school.

Froehlich began by joining the EHS band, but later switched to the orchestra. “I started in band and went until about ninth grade, and then I ended up quitting for no real reason other than I got braces, and I couldn’t play the trumpet anymore,” he said. “I went over to orchestra because I still wanted to pursue music. I knew I was always kind of musically inclined, and it was a good inspiration to continue with music throughout school.”

While Froehlich initially believed that band was the obvious choice, he soon developed a passion for playing in the orchestra. Froehlich never identified with the band as much because he always yearned for more creative freedom. “I had a lot of people I knew, like adults that have been through band, and a lot of family pressures to play the trumpet,” he said. “I got into that, but the whole time I was in it, it felt like they were pressuring you to move down this very strict path, and you really just got the feeling that it wasn’t about the fun of creating music.”

Consequently, when Froehlich joined the EHS orchestra, one of the things he appreciated most was EHS Orchestra Director Nick Gaudette’s approach to conducting. Gaudette encouraged students like Froehlich to pursue their creative passions and think outside the box. “Orchestra seemed to have a direction of ‘We’re here to create music. We’re not just trying to win competitions,’” Froehlich said.

With Gaudette’s approach, Froehlich often had the opportunity to play non-traditional songs that expanded his ideas of what an orchestra could play. “Gaudette [often] said, ‘We’re gonna play a rock tune, or let’s do something jazzy.’ It wasn’t just traditional chamber music he was trying to direct us towards. He was really trying to make a whole new thing and carve a different path,” Froehlich said.

Of course, with the freedom that Gaudette provided to his students, came times when the orchestra felt disoriented. “While the curriculum felt kind of disjointed at times and things kind of felt all over the place, I felt like it was better playing for somebody who actually is passionate about music,” Froehlich said.

He also mentioned that despite these moments, the orchestra performances always came together. “[Gaudette] had a very interesting charm to it all, and while I know we weren’t always on the same page, his vision came through in the end,” he said.

For Froehlich, playing for Gaudette was his first step in finding creative freedom as a musician. “It was nice to have that influence in my life to see that I really could say no sometimes and insert my own ideas and people would be willing to take them,” he said.

Smith, on the other hand, began his musical career in the EHS orchestra but learned how to play the guitar later on to fulfill a last-minute promise to a friend. “The reason I started to play guitar was for a Current Jam special act,” he said. “I had a friend who was doing a special act, and she said, ‘You know, we need a guitarist.’ I said ‘Okay,’ because I was an idiot and agreed to things I couldn’t do, but I learned how to do it.”

Little did Smith know, performing at Current Jam would spark his long-lasting passion for guitar. “I played the song, and it kind of set me up for success so I guess I can say that without [Current Jam], I technically would not have ever pursued guitar,” he said.

Like Froehlich, Smith appreciated the creative freedom offered to students during his time with the orchestra. “It was very ‘What do you want to play?’ not ‘I’m gonna force you to play all these things,’” he said. “I think it made me love it a little more and kind of gave me the self-discipline and leadership to pursue [music] myself.”

Music after high school

After graduating high school in 2024, Froehlich and Smith remained close but drifted apart to different colleges. Both decided to pursue music beyond high school, just in different ways. Smith continued playing individually, and Froehlich initially majored in Jazz Studies at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. “[EHS orchestra] originally encouraged me to go into college and pursue music at a college level, which I did at the University of Minnesota-Duluth for about a semester, until I realized it was the biggest waste of my time,” he said.

As he studied and played at college, Froehlich felt that he was not advancing his talent as a musician. When he eventually grew tired of his major and decided to pursue music individually like Smith, Froehlich encountered several challenges that he had never foreseen. “I feel like those programs [at college] weren’t really good at preparing me, or preparing anyone, for just how quickly any branch into the musical world escalates as you’re trying to be your own musician. I don’t even know if there’s a way to prepare kids for it,” he said. “It’s a really different world where you just have to figure things out on your own,”

Both Smith and Froehlich quickly learned that being a musician requires constant self-advocacy. “I think it’s important for students to understand if you wanna do music, you gotta go out and get it cause it’s not just something that’s gonna be handed to you,” Smith said.

Whether it was reaching out to venues, searching for gigs to book, or making himself known throughout his community, Smith realized that a rise to fame requires constant dedication. Smith also learned that the process can be even more challenging when piloting self-written music. “If you’re writing your own music, performing your own music is even more of a climb. I feel like I’m mowing a lawn with a pair of nail clippers,” Smith said.

7th St Entry and beyond

When Froehlich and Smith were offered the opportunity to play 7th St. Entry together, they both realized it would be a major milestone in their musical careers. The two of them planned to reconvene: Smith would play the guitar, Froehlich would play the keyboard, and together they would take their music to the next level.

For Froehlich, the performance offered him a vote of confidence in both his musical career and himself as an artist. “I think when I finally broke away from how [music] was structured academically, I was able to see [that] I can make it to 7th St. on my own with my own understanding of music, so I don’t [need to] try to define it rigidly,” he said. “Once I saw that it was possible, it really opened up a new world of ‘Okay, I can start playing these gigs.’ Maybe I should really start taking this seriously.”

Froehlich hopes his performance will help him gain momentum by getting recognition around the area so he can eventually be known beyond Minneapolis.

Smith concurred and also noted that playing at 7th St. Entry offered him valuable experience to guide his career. “It’s the most official thing I’ve done for sure. I get booking emails, it was very official, [and] they sent us an offer and a split. I was like, ‘Okay this is how it’s supposed to be,’” he said. “I’d say it [was] my first step in realizing [that] maybe I can make this happen.”

In addition to kicking off the two artists’ careers, both Froehlich and Smith found performing in the same venue as Prince especially meaningful, as they both looked to Prince for inspiration when they first began playing. “This will be the first time that I’ve ever played the stage that Prince played and he’s my number one inspiration for everything—life, music, everything,” Smith said. “I’m a huge Prince fan, and 7th St. is the first step towards [a major musical career]. I think every artist beginning [in Minnesota] aspires to play 7th St.,” Froehlich said.

Advice for aspiring musicians

As for other aspiring musicians, Froehlich and Smith each had a unique piece of advice to offer. Froehlich emphasized the importance of private lessons, as these allow students to personalize their lessons to their learning style. “I have ADHD and I don’t traditionally learn very well. To really be able to translate what was going on in my head into an instrument, I had to find the right teacher,” he said.

Smith emphasized that students should know that they can become successful musicians even if they do not centralize their studies around music. “We aren’t human without art, and I think we need a continuing generation of people who are willing to put that out in the world and that’s really important,” he said. “I’m going for [a] communications and Spanish [major], and that has nothing to do with music at all, but you can still make it happen.”

Lastly, Smith emphasized that the key to becoming a successful musician is seizing opportunity whenever possible. “Put your foot in the door and just talk to people because that’s how you get everything. You’d be surprised that very few people will actually go ahead and put themselves out there,” he said.

This story was originally published on Zephryus on March 9, 2025.