My love for percussion began when I was just a toddler. One day while I was visiting my grandparents, I stumbled upon my uncle’s old, dusty drum kit abandoned in the basement. From that point on, whenever my extended family gathered at my grandparents’ house for Sunday dinner, I would sneak away to the basement to bang out rhythms. Eventually, my parents agreed to buy me a toy drum set, and I played on that thing until it literally fell apart. By kindergarten, they realized my obsession wasn’t going away and decided to sign me up for drum lessons at South Shore Conservatory (SSC) where my older sister was taking guitar lessons. Here, I met my teacher and mentor Ed Sorrentino, and my 12-year musical journey began.
Ed started me out with the basics. Each week, we would work on practicing rudiments, rhythms and fundamentals. I looked forward to spending that time with Ed, he was always entertaining, supportive and fun. Over time, once I had a solid foundation of the basics, he moved on to teaching me other essentials such as limb independence, sight reading, keeping time and understanding dynamics. Once I reached middle school, my teacher began to focus on more advanced topics and helped me to prepare to play more difficult music. I was becoming a more confident player, so I decided to audition for my school jazz band and was accepted. Ed would work with me on my jazz pieces, stressing the importance of playing with feel. He also helped me prepare for festival audition pieces, especially when there were sections of the music with which I struggled. Now a senior at Marshfield High School, I have continued my weekly lessons with Ed, and the support and guidance he has given me has been invaluable. During the crazy time of Covid, it was great to have some sort of normalcy by seeing him and drumming together over Zoom.
Throughout my years at SSC, I have been a part of many different groups and ensembles. The first group I joined was the SSC Percussion Ensemble that Ed taught on Saturday morning. I was the youngest member of the group when I joined but the other players were so friendly, I looked up to all of them and learned so much from playing with them. I remember when we performed at the Chase Away the Winter Blues Gala, and I thought it was so cool to play for a large audience like that. A few years ago, I joined an SSC rock band called On the Fence. We meet weekly to practice and have had several performance opportunities organized through the Conservatory. Many years ago, when I was a nervous little kid playing a snare piece at Perfomathon, I never dreamed that one day I would be rocking with On the Fence at Barnes & Noble in Hingham. The most recent group I’ve been honored to be a part of is the Dave Jodka Scholarship Band for Future Rockers. The band is called Sound Waves. We practice weekly and spend time writing original pieces. It was a huge honor to perform at the Mad Love Festival last October with Sound Waves. I’ve made great friendships and had so much fun performing with all these amazing Conservatory groups.
I am grateful to have met Ed all those years ago. Playing drums has taught me the importance of commitment and dedication. I have learned to push and challenge myself and I’ve become a more confident person and performer because of my time as a student at SSC. I plan on studying engineering in the fall at either Villanova or Northeastern University and I know wherever I end up, drumming will always be a part of my life.
Percussion student Jack Wildes performs in SSC’s Graduating Seniors Recital on Friday, May 3, 7 pm at One Conservatory Drive. This event is free and open to the public.
SSC Arts Musings 