School Visitation

    On Friday April 27^th, Greg Howard, Vijith Assar and I visited the classrooms of elementary, middle and high school bands at The Petrides School on Staten Island.

    Picture this…early morning, tremendous rainfall, lugging amps, rack units, speakers and five or so Sticks from the van into the school. Was this a dream? It couldn’t be - who could sleep looking forward to an entire weekend of Stick extravaganza. In fact, I hadn’t slept much making sure everything was copasetic for our first major Stick seminar. We rolled a cart full of equipment past the gleaming eyes of students and staff members who realized something special was about to occur at school today - I became excited! My adrenaline kicked in! For the first time in a while, I felt as if I were on tour with a band. Yet, this time there was a greater purpose than just playing for a crowd...performing for and educating eager young minds about a very amazing instrument. My eyes also gleamed when I saw the huge catered breakfast that the school had most graciously arranged for its visitors.

    After breakfast and setting up, my brother Carlos took Greg and Vijith on a mini tour of the school. They demonstrated how the Chapman Stick works while playing some requests for the children of the elementary classes. There was even a jam on “Yellow Submarine” that involved singing and dancing along. Very entertaining…you had to be there! Included was a Q & A, as well as a hands-on Chapman Stick session where some of the students got to try their hands at tapping techniques.

    After visiting the elementary class, Greg, Vijith, Carlos and I went back to the band room where we had initially set up. I informed Greg that we were going to demonstrate for three band classes - jazz, orchestral and symphonic consisting of about fifty or so middle and high school students per class. After some suggestions had been thrown around, Greg came up with a game plan! Prior to the students’ arrival, Greg devised a lesson that incorporated a Q& A session and a full orchestral jam under the direction of the school’s band director Vincent Bunnicelli. Greg captured the attention of every student in the room! He didn’t miss a beat!