Last week I was elated when I received this letter from one of my students who was about to graduate High School, and will be attending Berklee in the fall. It was one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me, and from a person who is going to be a great musician. I just had to post it.
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June 1, 2009
Dear Tyler Oakleaf,
Hello Tyler, I am writing this letter to you because I wanted to invite you to my high school graduation at Symphony Hall on June 12th 2009. I wanted to reflect on how you were a very important individual in my life because you taught me well during the last two years and I have grown to new levels of musicianship because of you. My lessons with you were great. I learned about Berklee, life as a musician, and so much about music, how chords function, what is a chord, what is a melody, so many things that I needed to know to be where I am right now.
Right now I am actually in Berklee taking Ear Training 2 and Harmony 3 because my school has a dual enrollment program where I can take classes at a neighboring college on scholarship. I have also already completed Ear Training 1 and Harmony 2 in the Fall 2008 semester. I have gotten a $15,000/year scholarship from Berklee from my audition, and am competing for a Berklee Continuing Scholarship from Berklee City Music in the summer. This year at the Berklee High School Jazz Festival (2009) I have won two judges choice awards in both of my ensembles, and the incredible honor of Most Outstanding Musician (festival-wide). This year I started playing trio with bass and drums, and have competed in IAJE all state combo festival and won gold. Recently there has been a competition for Boston Public School music students to audition for the Fidelity Future Stage Boston Pops Contest, a contest where they pick four acts and we open up and play featured with the Boston Pops on May 20th, 2009.
These awards and scholarships did not come from luck. It was from hours and hours of hard work and over a year of lessons with you. Wherever I end up as a musician, I will never forget who I learned from. Thank you, Tyler, I hope to see you on June 12th!
Thanks,
Chris Juris
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