Berklee College of Music student Alan Benzie, right, works with Lynn Public School students Alan Ruiz-Castro, left, and Shen Gao at Classical High School Thursday. (Item Photo / Reba M. Saldanha)

Berklee College of Music Orchestra Performance inspires Classical students

By Chris Stevens / The Daily Item

LYNN - When the Berklee College of Music Urban Outreach Jazz Orchestra rocked Classical High School auditorium Thursday, conductor and associate professor Lin Bivano said the response from students was so phenomenal it energized the musicians.

The orchestra, made up of Berklee students, spent the day at Classical but worked with musicians from all three of the city's high schools during workshops designed to educate students and open their eyes and ears to the world of jazz.

The Berklee students swapped stories with the kids during lunch then broke the young musicians into groups for workshops. Fine Arts Director Joseph Picano said the workshops focused on three areas: rhythm, brass and reeds.

Corey Dubusson, a senior and tenor saxophone player, called the concert "fresh" and "totally dope."

When asked what he hoped to get from the afternoon workshop, Dubusson pointed to a Berklee musician and said without hesitation, "to play like him."

Senior Ariel Gonzalez has been playing the alto sax since fifth grade. Although he has been to jazz concerts before he said the Urban Orchestra was different. He said he longed to learn to improvise like the Berklee players.

Gonzalez said he was also hoping to pick up practice tips and maybe learn to read rhythm lines so he could also play more like his hero Cannonball Adderly.

"As soon as I heard (Adderly) play I knew that's what I wanted," he said. "I wanted to play like that."

Gonzalez, Dubusson and about 10 other students took part in exercises designed to help the students build stamina during the reed workshop. They also took a turn at soloing on a song and talked a lot about what it's like to actually study music.

Berklee musicians Barclay Moffitt and Ben Whiting likened improvising to a free flowing conversation with a friend, only the vocabulary is musical notes instead of words.

Saxophone player Clay Lyons encouraged students to create a mental image of what they would ideally like their music to sound like. His, he told the students, is a mixture of great saxophonists Cannonball Adderly, Michael Breker, Dexter Gordon and Gene Ammons.

"I try and imagine my ideal sound and every time I practice I try and get closer to that sound," he said.

Moffitt also warned students that actually studying music is a lot more tedious than it sounds. Much of his time, he said, is spent in a 5-foot by 5-foot room playing one long note over and over again.

"I think we'll all agree when it comes to shaping your sound it's absolute torture," he said. "The exercises are really kind of crazy but it's the kind of work and torture you have to suffer through."

Moffitt quickly added that life as a jazz musician is also plenty of fun.

The Berklee students in each of the workshops also spent a lot of time urging students to listen to musicians who play their respective instruments. They also listened to the high school musicians, asking them what they needed and critiquing technique and performances.

Biviano said for some students what they need most is guidance and a push in the right direction.

Some students just don't know how to become a musician. When students hear about programs open to them, like a summer program at Berklee, Biviano said "their eyes just light up."