FARMINGTON — On a warm Friday afternoon, the college campus was nearly deserted, but not completely.

Sounds seeped from behind doors of the University of Maine’s classrooms. Jazz Camp students practiced one last time with their bands, preparing for a concert at the Roberts Learning Center. The young jazz musicians performed under the tutelage of an all-star faculty, and the Friday night concerts let them strut their stuff.

Ethan Pierce of Freeport took a short break from rehearsal, and he was happy to talk about his love of jazz. He has been playing the alto and tenor saxophone for four years and takes weekly lessons from Tim O’Dell, a music professor at the University of Southern Maine. He started music classes in elementary school.

“I had an incredible teacher, Brooke Carlton, and she had me learn ‘I’ve Got Rhythm,'” he said. “I immediately fell in love with it.”

Pierce says playing the saxophone includes a mixture of challenging instruction and less exciting rote practice, but he knows he can’t progress without personal dedication. He cites John Coltrane as one of his favorite musicians, and Coltrane’s “Giant Steps” as one of the earliest compositions that inspired him. Jazz Camp instructors demand his best efforts.

“Our masters’ class can really blow me away, because I get to see someone playing the way I want to play someday,” he said.

By the way, Ethan is 14 and will be a freshman at Freeport High School in September.

All students are assigned to bands with players of similar ability. During the week, there are nightly performances and jam sessions. At week’s end concert, each band has 15 minutes to present a musical program. Timing is everything, so even getting on and off stage as a band requires some maneuvering and practice.

Bands offered some of the traditional favorites; “My Funny Valentine” and “Take Five” were on the list. For the concert’s finale, instructors joined the students, and the Frank Carlberg Ensemble raised the temperature with energetic percussion, piano and guitar.