Columnist Jamala Rogers
In a city where young people are often stereotyped as saggy-pants-wearing criminals, it was quite refreshing to experience the improvisingyouthorchestra. The group kicked off the Ivory Perry Park Concert Series, a summer concert program now in its 6th season.
The month of June has been horrific in terms of the human carnage in our community. There were four homicides in a 24-hour period earlier this month. The city has clocked in 63 murders this year; at this rate, we could easily top last year’s number of 138. The brothers committed to “Oneness” will be busy this summer.
The youth orchestra was organized by Hamiet Bluiett and Stanley Coleman from about a dozen middle and high schools in the metro area. The group included brothers Jo-el and Josh Williams who are already gaining local acclaim. They have their own jazz quartet and also play as a duet around town.
If the name “Hamiet Bluiett” has a ring to it, it’s because he’s the renowned baritone sax player in the internationally acclaimed World Saxophone Quartet. Stan Coleman comes with his own set of credentials as a musician, educator and conductor. He currently works with the Brittany Woods Jazz Band. Both took time out of their busy schedules to mentor this new generation of musicians.
I don’t know if the young people in the orchestra actually understood the musical geniuses they had amongst them but the intense experience will be unforgettable. They are at the age where a lot of distractions can beckon them in different directions. I know because that’s what happened to me. After taking piano lessons for several years, when I got to high school, I thought I had outgrown the instrument.
The young people in improvisingyouthorchestra definitely caught the attention of the other children in the audience. After all, they were their peers. I suspect that a few of them will bug their parents to get an instrument and go on to pursue music. (Did I tell you that the research says that those students who play music are better in math?)
It was clear that Bluiett passed on to the youth his musical expertise wrapped up in the wisdom of life experiences. He probably got high marks when he told the youth to give him some hip hop. They knew he was in tune to the happenings when he told them in rehearsal that hip hop is the “beat of the planet.” During the concert, Bluiett told the crowd he wanted them to also know the music that got played before it was written. That’s deep.
For concerned folks wanting to continue the Oneness spirit, grab a young person and take him or her to the Sheldon Concert Hall for the Eclipse Jazz Collective concert featuring the Williams brothers. The concert on July 8 is a fundraiser to help the young musicians get to college. What could be more ideal than that: exposing young people to a positive activity while as the same time helping other young people in their pursuit of higher education?
That investment would be oh so sweet and meaningful.