At age seven, Michael J. Engdahl picked up a guitar and started to play.

Before he attended college, he resolved to further his music education, as he deemed it the correct path to follow.  Years later, he found himself composing his own jazz pieces for the Wichita State School of Music.

Sunday afternoon, Engdahl, assisted by Luke Young on saxophone, Riley Day on bass and Ben Karnes on drums, played a senior recital in Miller Concert Hall, where he had the chance to show attendants his work.

“All of these compositions that I’ve written up to this point, even the ones that I didn’t play on this recital, are all based on different experiences and points in my life,” he said. “It’s my way to interpret a situation and express it through music rather than with words, but there’s still a lot of word influence based on what I read and write as well.”

Engdahl explained his creations deal with a range of subjects — from everyday life occurrences to life-changing events — yet stated not all songs are autobiographical. He then spoke about the meaning behind his songs “The Village Queen” and “Drowning,” which he played at the recital.

“A lot has to do with trying to write a melody that accurately depicts the feelings of whatever the situation may be,” he said. “One of them was dedicated to my grandmother, another one came out of coming back from a long day of school and just being so completely wiped out and felt like I was in fact ‘drowning’ in homework.”

Even though his journey through music began with rock and metal, Engdahl eventually explored other genres, which eventually led him to jazz.

“I guess what pushed me into playing it was wanting to become musician all around,” he said. “I wanted to use the influences from prior experience and integrate that into what jazz is as a tradition and push it to see where it’s gonna go next.”

Engdahl currently teaches at Senseney Music and has worked as a private tutor for over three years.

“I’ve played in different styles and types of bands,” he said. “I constantly force myself to be as well-rounded as possible, which is allowing me to be called for gigs, be able to put my own music out there, so I believe I’m taking all the correct and necessary steps to make a career out of performing and teaching, as well.”