BY MICHAELA O'DONNELL
ISSUE NO. 40 | JUNE 2022
As the school year comes to a close, we will be saying goodbye to another round of graduating high school seniors as they turn to the next chapter of their lives. We are always excited when students are able to continue their lessons at MDM after graduation, but understand that many will be
THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF MODERN DAY MUSIC SCHOOL
moving away for college, new jobs, and other opportunities. For this month’s newsletter, we will be taking a look at some of the ways that music has shaped their journeys thus far, and how they plan to carry music forward with them. The benefits of music education have been proven time and time again, but we continue to see its impact in each of our MDM students as they grow with us. They blow us away every day with their talent and creativity, both in music and in other areas as well. This could not be more true for our current round of high school seniors! As Emily M. shared: “Music is such a huge part of who I am. I can’t imagine where I would be without it, and working with Tony and MDM
CONGRATS TO OUR GRADS!
generally, has been such an amazing experience. It’s an incredibly supportive environment, and I’ve loved meeting and working with so many crazy talented people. I’ve had so many opportunities to use my creativity, especially with songwriting, which has been so much fun. I really don’t know what I would be doing if I’d never started playing guitar! I definitely plan to continue with music after high school. I love writing songs and I hope to keep recording and performing them, it’s been so much fun! It might not be a full time career, but I love music, and it’s something I really enjoy doing.” We are also excited to see our students continuing their music education post-high school. Music is not only a great way to connect with oneself, but it’s also a great way to connect with a diverse community of people in all stages of life. As Elena K. explained, “I plan to continue music after high school because I have made great connections through the music community and hope to do so in college too!” Some students, like Elena, are even following in the footsteps of the coaches and musicians before them by going to school for music. We could not be more proud of the hard work that it took for them to get there, and are excited to be a part of their journey! In addition to teaching students to think creatively, music also teaches them how to conquer fears and take risks.
congrats to our grads!
CONT...
It provides students with a way to discover and express themselves in meaningful ways. Music can also help students build confidence and self esteem as they progressively get better and better at the instrument(s) that they choose. As they begin to see their hard work pay off, the discipline and motivation to work towards their goals becomes that much stronger. Gisela B. shared a firsthand example of just how much of an impact music had during her high school years: “Music has been the reason I made it through high school. Metallica in particular pulled me out of the hardest time in my life in my freshmen year, and inspired me to become a musician and learn to play the bass. Without them I simply would not be here. At MDM, I was able to join a band program for the first time, and I immediately clicked with the two bandmates I was assigned through our shared love for metal/rock music and was even able to form my first band with them outside of MDM. Modern Day’s band program really gave me a lot of knowledge and lessons that really helped me get a sense of how a band functions and everyone’s importance in it. For college, I plan on attending SUNY Schenectady where I will major in music, specifically music theory. Music is my passion, and my dream is to be in a successful metal/rock band. Music will forever be my comfort and my purpose, and I’m so blessed to have discovered myself through it.” It is clear that music’s impact reaches far and wide, and we hope that all of our past, current and future students continuously make music a part of their lives. We are so excited for all of our graduating seniors, and wish you all the best of luck as you enter this next stage of your life. The only thing we ask is that you keep the music flowing!
For this month’s spotlight, we were excited to sit down with one of our long-time coaches and friend to all, Tony Garza! Tony’s first involvement with music began at the age of 8 when he started playing the trumpet. Tony eventually switched to the euphonium (baritone horn), and then to guitar after he bought himself his first guitar on Black Friday, 2007. Over the years, Tony continued to introduce new instruments in to his repertoire, and is now also competent at bass, piano, and drums. Tony is, without a doubt, a multi-instrumentalist, but gravitates most towards guitar and considers this his specialty. Tony’s fixation on music really solidified during his freshman year of high school. By his senior year, about 60% of Tony’s courses were music classes! This passion for music continued after high school when Tony attended SUNY Fredonia to study Music Education. Here he mastered Music Theory, Aural Skills, and a variety of different instruments. One of Tony’s biggest takeaways from his music education was learning how to handle a large workload. As Tony explained, “it taught me how to practice the right way and how to learn complicated pieces quicker, which has been so helpful to me nowadays.” After graduating from Fredonia, Tony primarily found himself playing guitar in the professional world. He has been involved in some awesome projects, and played in a number of cool bands over the years. He was even featured on local T.V. in 2016. By February of 2017, Tony found himself coaching at MDM, and we couldn't be
happier to have him on the team. Tony brings a youthful energy to MDM that keeps our spirits high, and makes every lesson a fun experience for everyone! Tony’s diverse background allows for a wide range of possibilities in his lessons. He is able to apply his unique perspective and continuously introduce students to new ideas every day. When he first joined the MDM team, Tony started with teaching guitar, and slowly began taking on bass, piano, drum, ukulele, and sometimes even voice lessons. Tony soon took on the role of Band Director for our Rock School 101 program, where he continued to share his breadth of knowledge. He also began coaching our Little Rockers program for ages 3-5, and was able to impart his love of music to the next generations of MDM musicians! When asked what his favorite part of teaching is, Tony shared that teaching “keeps things interesting from day to day and pushes me to keep getting better in all aspects.” Outside of MDM, Tony is constantly working towards his own music goals and creative projects. Writing and producing his own music has been Tony's focus for the past two years, and we can’t wait to hear what he has in store for us! As a talented multi-instrumentalist, Tony is putting all of his skills to work in the project that he is currently working on. “I play all of the instruments, write all the lyrics, sing all the parts, and engineer the whole project.” Tony is so excited for people to hear his current project because this is the first time that he has taken a lead role in any musical project. “People will know how I sound.” The amount of anxiety that comes with releasing music is one aspect of the project that he didn’t anticipate though.
Thanks to the encouragement of friends, family and students, the anxiety subsided and Tony’s first single will be coming out June 2nd! Make sure to go check it out! Tony was first introduced to recording at age 14 while jamming with his best friend Sylvia. She was the first person that Tony ever saw dive deep in to the recording process and it inspired him to try it out as well. He has come a long way since then! He is now actively writing, recording and mixing his own music, and has picked up a wealth of knowledge over the course of his journey. When asked about what he is listening for when mixing his own music, Tony gave us some great insight: “For me personally the music has to have a vibe to it. Once you have a composition down there is still a lot you can do creatively when it comes to mixing. I recommend listening to your favorite music with headphones on and try to use that in your own creations. You can go as simple as recording in mono or as complicated as modern records are today, luckily there are resources out there with pre recorded music to use when you want to practice mixing. If it sounds good on a regular phone speaker, headphones, and stereo monitors you have a good mix in my opinion.” This process of writing and recording has been and continues to be a journey of self discovery for Tony. He shared that “writing and recording to me is figuring out who I am as a person. For a long time I have struggled with my identity as a musician because I could do a lot of things but never really felt comfortable in who I was because I didn’t really know who I was.” We also hope that the students of MDM are able to find their own journeys of self discovery in music! Whether it be writing and recording, preparing for the studio, releasing music, playing live, or even attending music school, Tony had one key tip that applies across the board: confidence. "They may be different things but none of them can be accomplished without a base layer of confidence. If you don’t believe something will happen, chances are it will not. The flip side is true as well. A lot of big plans like getting into music school or recording an album are a lot of little steps that amount to a larger goal. It’s much easier to build confidence doing manageable tasks instead of one large goal that seems too big to handle.” We couldn’t agree more, Tony, and are looking forward to seeing our students take their confidence to the next level. Make sure to go check out Tony’s first single, ‘Sweetness’ on June 2nd!
Michaela's Corner
JUNE CALENDAR
2 - Release of Tony’s single, ‘Sweetness’ 3 - Ben with David J, Van Slycks, 7-10pm 3 - Tony with Mia Scirocco, Shady Harbor Marina in New Baltimore 4 - Under the Den (Ben), Saratoga City Tavern, 8pm-12am 4 - Selector David Suede DJ Set (David), Pint Sized in Saratoga, 8pm-12am, 21+ 6 - Under the Den (Ben) at Super Dark Monday, Desperate Annie’s in Saratoga, 9:30pm 8 - Ben Solo Gig, JT Maxie’s, 7-10pm 10 - Vagabond (Tony), Martels in Colonie, 6-9pm 10 - Under the Den (Ben), 151 Schenectady, 7-10pm 11 - Under the Den (Ben), Rare Form Brewing in Troy, 6-9pm 11 - Groovin’ Productions (Tony), Americade at Shepard Park, 7-9pm 18 - Ben with David J, Frog Alley Brewing, 7-10pm 23 - Ben Solo Gig, Lawrence St Tavern in Glens Falls, 5-7pm 24 - Ampevene (Gabe), Lark Hall in Albany, 8pm (doors at 7pm) 24 - Ben with David J, Dutch Apple Cruises 30 - Ben Solo Gig, Peddler’s, 7-10pm
Congrats to all of our MDM graduates! We will surely miss those of you who are leaving, but hope to see you back next summer!
A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR OUR NEW STUDENTS in MAY!
Nermin F Jayden C Nolan P Titus H Xavier R Amelia M Annie L Aubree D Deegan H Eleanor S Ella B Anthony C Marco S Liam K Elvin L Alice L Max S Joshua N Charlotte L Bret B Michael S Carrie C Vincent C Eric G Mya W Sadie S Frank C Olivia L Eva P Sadie M Joe V Sterling G Aanya Mariam V Valerie T Chloe V Carly B
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