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“The music is in the people”: Shadle junior gets music experience of a lifetime
Posted by Communications Staff on 11/7/2022
Pictured: Shadle Park High School Junior, Nathan Waitt (left, wearing black beanie), attended the 5-week Aspire Summer Program where he participated in jam sessions, classes and more.
Shadle Park High School junior Nathan Waitt dedicates his time and talent to his school’s music program. In the Summer of 2022, he continued to grow his musical talents and leadership at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA.
Waitt has an extensive music background. He started playing the trumpet in 5th grade, joined the jazz band in 8th grade and now holds the elected leadership position of Junior Drum Major. Waitt also gains experience with the Whitworth Jazz Department.
Aspire is a five-week intensive music performance program at Berklee and is “the world’s most comprehensive summer music performance program,” with Meghan Trainor and Charlie Puth among notable alumni. Each year, high school and college students from across the country attend Aspire and live on Berklee’s campus.
Waitt attended thanks to a scholarship from the Johnston Fix Foundation (JFF). Founded in 1948, JFF supports regional organizations dedicated to education, the arts, and the environment.
With the help of SPS Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator Carol Peterson and a nomination from Shadle Park Band Director Matthew Wenman, Waitt was chosen as an ideal candidate for Aspire.
“I was surprised and excited, and also kind of intimidated because I’ve never been away from home for that long,” Waitt said.
Waitt said life at the program included classes in theory, musicianship and jazz arranging or composition. There was also a lot of ensemble and group work.
“It’s a lot of getting in that setting where everyone is there for music,” he said, “Which is a lot different than the environments I’ve had here.”
By playing with a group, Waitt learned to communicate with peers, attendees and ultimately navigate music in a practical sense rather than a theoretical one. One of these practical skills Waitt learned was how to entertain through music.
“Ultimately, music is a language. It’s a language without words.” Waitt said. “So you need to be able to communicate with the other members that you are playing with and be able to know what works with the audience.”
Waitt said that much of this is being able to perform under pressure and connect with the audience. In a controlled environment, music is played the exact same way every time until you perfect it. Entertaining entails adapting to the audience’s unique reactions.
“The music is in the people,” Waitt said.
Learning how to entertain also meant failing at times. Waitt said he remembers his first jam session with the entire jazz department very clearly.
“I remember going there with my instrument, getting up to play and realizing I had no idea what I was doing,” he said.
Waitt said this put, “Always be the worst player in the room,” in perspective, a lesson Wenman taught him.
“So even though I did horrible that first time and it was probably the worst solo that was played that night, I still had a lot of fun just listening to all these great people come in and play and learning from them,” he said.
Waitt now works with many individuals one-on-one in the Shadle Park music program. He is trying to help them play how they want to, rather than how they should. Instead of trying to “carbon copy” music, he helps other people recognize the individualistic part of music, as Aspire helped him to do.
“Going to Aspire turned everything upside down in a good way in that I recognize it’s a lot different in the music world than when you’re in high school,” Waitt said.
While Waitt dreams of becoming a music teacher like Wenman someday, no matter what he does he wants to make sure music is always a part of his life.
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