| Wayne Bergeron masterclass at NTHS
Well, I just heard the Wayne Bergeron Master Class at New Trier High School. As a NTHS Band Parent, I'm his driver to and from the hotel this evening.
He was handed a tough gig - a clinic in 40 minutes! He did a terrific job, though. His nuts and bolts stuff was right in line with many of the ideas we all know - paying homage to Maggiao and Shew. However, what was particularly interesting were his comments about his experiences as a free-lancer who was also confident enough and caring enough to continue studying - sometimes with his professional peers. For example, Wayne is a screaming lead player, but he took some lessons with Malcolm McNabb to work on his legit sound and attack. Man, I thought that took guts on Bergeron's part! I really respect him for having the courage to do this. He was also very forthcoming about some of his failures in the studio. I was also impressed with his courage to discuss this. Certainly we were all well versed with his success stories.
I felt that the kids had a chance to learn a lot about the biz from his short talk if they were alert. I know I did!
If you ever get a chance to hear Bergeron lecture, do it. He is a very engaging fellow and a fine musician.
Nick Drozdoff |