(orchestral music)
- The Juilliard Summer Percussion Seminar
is a two week percussion intensive,
geared towards advanced high school percussionists,
who are looking to pursue a career in music
and more immediately looking for success,
in their college auditions.
- I knew getting into it, that it was gonna be
a really intense ride, and it has been.
But it's been so much fun.
- It's so much things packed in two weeks,
but then that's sort of like a percussionists-life.
- Being at Juilliard, being in New York City,
it's a very vibrant, exciting, and energizing environment.
So they have opportunities to take advantage of all
that Juilliard has to offer with our instrument collection,
our faculty, other resources in the building,
but also everything outside, in Lincoln Center.
- One of the classes I teach is very specifically,
Preparing for a College Audition.
The insight we're giving them is universal,
and it's gonna help them, in any audition that they take.
- They kind of talk to us a little bit about schools,
and about audition process, which has been very useful.
It's kind of help me think more closely
about what schools I want to apply to.
And then also, I just feel more prepared, in general
for the auditions, especially with repertoire.
Like what repertoire to play.
- Because, you know, at school, you kind of
get stuck into one thing.
Like I'll be, because I'm good at malice,
that's the only thing you do.
But now, that you're here,
it's like you have to do everything.
- We have opportunities to study
the standard percussion instruments:
Timpani, Snare-drum, Marimba, Xylophone,
Bass Drums, Cymbals, Triangle, Tambourine.
Also, we explore Afro Cuban Hand Drums,
Persian and Indian music, and hand drums.
- Being exposed to so many different kinds of percussion.
You know, it blew out my perspective, totally.
- The faculty is amazing.
You're just working with these
really incredible names that you hear about all the time,
but you never really think, "Oh, I'll get to work
with that person",
and "This person would get to hear me play."
- They get to work with Daniel Druckman,
who is of the New York Philharmonic,
and Chair of the Percussion Department, here at Juilliard.
Greg Zuber, of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra,
also Juilliard faculty.
Javier Diaz, and Glen Velez, amazing hand drums specialists,
also Juilliard faculty.
Haruka Fujii, who is an international marimba
and percussion soloist.
Joe Gramley, also an international soloist
and chamber musician, and former Director of this program.
- All the Masterclasses have been really interesting,
learning from incredible musicians,
and seeing other students play.
I also really like the Ear Training classes.
Learning about theory, I'm kind of a theory nerd.
- It's amazing to watch them arrive, eyes wide open,
maybe a little trepidatious, maybe a little nervous.
- I was expecting it to be really cutthroat
and really, really competitive.
I was expecting like no friendliness whatsoever.
And I come here and everybody's
just like automatically friends
and we're all learning from each other,
and just having a good time.
- This program is surrounded by
this energy of New York City.
- More than like any one specific thing,
it was the concept of just being in New York,
and being able to walk around,
be among all of the people.
- That's like one of my favorite parts of the day,
is getting to walk out of the Residence Hall
and like right across the street, is Lincoln Center.
- We tend to go to concerts
that happen in Lincoln Center, every year.
Also explore the New York City.
- The students have access to all of
the progression instruments, owned by the Juilliard School.
- We get to play on Five-Octave Marimbas, that are Rosewood.
I've never played on a Five-Octave Rosewood Marimba before,
so that was really awesome.
- Remembering that our department here is very small,
between 12 and 15 people.
But at any given time, three or four of them
might be people who graduated, this summer program.
- I remember at the end, the final concert,
and I say goodbye to Joseph Gramley.
And he said, "Great, thanks Jeremy.
"It was great working with you", you know.
"Good luck in your tape to Juilliard."
That stayed in the back of my mind.
I may not have applied to Juilliard,
if I hadn't come to the Summer Seminar.
- Each year, I'm amazed at the level
of the students that come here.
- We've been able to feed off each other.
I've definitely learned from other people's weaknesses,
and my own weaknesses, as well as our strengths.
- For the first time, I was around a group of percussionists
that was into percussion, as much as I was.
- It's a really amazing opportunity, as a student,
to engage with all of these different people,
and get input and get feedback
and build friendships from all over the world.
- When we get back to the dorms, we all
just kind of sit there and we're exhausted,
and in shock for a moment, just like, "Oh my God,
I can't believe we did all that today".
But it's great because even though you're crazy busy
and you're rehearsing all the time
and you're out really late,
you learn so much, and you have so much fun doing it.
So, it's completely worth it.
- I wish I had this when I was in high school.
I'm jealous of these guys.
It's a really fortunate program.
- And it was just amazing.
Brought me to explore new things.
- It's really cool. - It's awesome.
(upbeat music)