Berklee in Puerto Rico 2014: Students Share Their Experience/Alumnos Cuentan Su Experiencia

Berklee en Puerto Rico 2014 es un programa que forma parte de Berklee on the Road. Este programa es producido con la ayuda de Banco Popular. | Berklee in Puerto Rico 2014 is a program that is part of the Berklee on the Road programs. This program is produced with the help of Banco Popular.

Fabio Gonzalez

My name is Fabio Gonzalez, I’m 20 years old and I’m a drummer. I went to the Berklee in Puerto Rico program thinking that it would be a nice experience to develop my main instrument, but I learned a lot more than that. At the start of the program I’ll admit I was slightly disappointed in finding out that the drummers would not be able to play a lot except during the ensemble rehearsals, but the moment I saw how Casey Scheurell was handling the class made me forget my initial disappointment. I found out that one the most important things a musician must master is the art of listening and practicing, and Casey made that the primary focus. He’d play examples as answer’s to most of our questions, then write them down on the board so we could copy them and later use them for our own practice sessions. A lot of topics were discussed in the class, ranging from playing polyrhythms to mastering various styles and the life of the professional musician. Casey has become one of my favorite drummers and I plan to research, not only the playing he did on Jean Luc Ponty albums, but also the players he recommended us to listen because as he said, jazz is the classical music for the drum set so we better research it and learn from it. Another great experience for me was the ensemble rehearsals. I was in Ensemble 8 with Rick Peckham and it was a blast. We performed funk numbers for the performance but we also did a Charlie Parker tune during rehearsals, and he gave me a huge piece of advice on soloing on the kit. But what really made this class incredible, along with the other one, was the dynamics between the students and the teachers. We all became like an extended family, nobody laughed at each other, we supported each other, and that drove us to be better players and better people. I hope to be in Berklee in 2015 and I know that if the people at the Boston campus are as equally supportive and passionate about all music styles, then it will be the most musically enriching experience in my life.

Sara Figueroa

Berklee en Puerto Rico ha sido una experiencia rica y galardonadora.
Conocer tanta gente linda y trabajadora, tanto de la Facultad de Boston como sus administradores y estudiantes de toda la isla, me ha inspirado a seguir creciendo y desarrollándome como persona, como músico, y artista. Me di la oportunidad para audicionar y me sorprendieron con una beca! 😀 Gracias a Dios y gracias Berklee en Puerto Rico!
Ciertamente me siento privilegiada y honrada de formar parte de este programa!

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Andres Ayala

Este seria mi 3er año consecutivo asistiendo a los talleres de Berklee en Puerto Rico y pues puedo decir que es una experiencias buena para esos jovenes musico como yo. Soy estudiante entrante en Berklee para septiembre 2014 y esto me ayuda a ver y experimentar con lo que me voy a encontrar alla.

This would be my 3rd consecutive year attending the workshops of Berklee in Puerto Rico and I can say that it is a good experience for young musician like me. I am an incoming student for this fall at Berklee College of Music and this helps me see and experience how is going to be there.

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Jennifer Morales

Hola soy Jennifer Morales, tengo 11 años y curso mi sexto grado. Para mi fue un gran honor atender Berklee en Puerto Rico 2014, fue una experiencia enriquecedora, socialice con personas de todas partes de la isla y con maestros del programa más prestigiado de música en Boston. Aprendí más sobre el jazz, y el jazz latino, sobre las improvisación y abundar en la teoría. Mis sueños son llegar a poder estudiar en Berklee College of Music en Boston, pero primero tengo q aprender a hablar inglés, en las conferencias no entendí nada jaja. Pero estuve ahí y me sentí parte del grupo escogido de Puerto Rico y me siento muy agradecida, feliz, y honrada por su oportunidad aunque no tengo la edad. Pero… se que tengo la capacidad musical y la inteligencia suficiente para crecer junto a jóvenes mayores que yo. Gracias Berklee de Puerto Rico 2014 y espérenme que vuelvo el próximo año!

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