Giuliana Savini
Reporter
While the majority of the student body is still in bed on Saturday morning, sophomore Harrison Miller is already in class. He has been attending Juilliard Pre-College for the bassoon every Saturday since September.
How did you get involved playing the bassoon?
When I was in 6th grade, I went to a football game at the high school and I saw a student playing the bassoon and I thought it was cool and I wanted to try it. So I talked to Mrs. Rosen, who was the teacher at the time, and she thought it would be a good idea because switching from the clarinet to bassoon was generally an easy switch. I started playing it in December of 6th grade. The sound was really appealing to my ear. There are a million clarinet players in the world and I felt like the bassoon would be a better area for me to pursue a career in, because I love music.
I know you have played the clarinet along with the bassoon, which one do you enjoy more and why?
I prefer to play the bassoon; I was never really great at the clarinet. I feel like in some ways an instrument fits the person as much as the person fits the instrument. I couldn’t do what I do on the bassoon on the clarinet. How you read the music is different, the role in the orchestra is different, the clarinet is more of a showy instrument while the bassoon is mainly for color. It’s just a different role.
From what aspect of music do you draw the most joy?
I feel like with every musician there is a connection between them and the music, there is just something that happens. It’s hard to describe, I feel that most musicians are better at describing things with their instruments than with their words. It’s not to say that we don’t know how to talk or anything, it’s just that what we can’t say, we can play. Our emotions, what’s going on in our lives all translates into our music. It’s all related.
How did you get started with programs like Norwalk Youth Symphony, Juilliard Pre-College, and Choate?
I started doing Norwalk Youth Symphony at the beginning of 6th grade when I started playing the clarinet. I had never played in an orchestra before; I didn’t know what the heck I was doing. And then I went through that year on clarinet and I started playing bassoon that same year but I was too nervous to start doing anything with it. I continued doing NYS through 9th grade.
Last year around this time, Choate’s music director, Phil Ventre, contacted me to play in their orchestra because they were in desperate need for a bassoon. So I would commute down there on Tuesdays and Thursdays to Wallingford and I would play with their orchestra. It was a really good experience because I got to meet new musicians and I started opening up where I was being known and where I was playing. It was more repertoire for me to learn. The music director convinced me to apply to Choate. I ended up getting accepted, but I chose to stay here.
Last year I switched teachers to Marc Goldberg who was the principle bassoonist at the New York Philharmonic for a couple of years and he teaches at Juilliard Pre-College. Because I missed the audition date, he took me knowing that I could have gotten in. Last May, I auditioned for real and there were 25 bassoonists and they took three. I’ve been going ever since.
What is the most challenging aspect of Juilliard Pre-College?
The first most challenging thing was waking up in the morning at 5:15 to get on the train. But actually talking about the program, there’s nothing I think that is the most necessarily challenging it’s just that the atmosphere and the people there can make it very competitive. The challenging thing for me is just to remind myself that in reality, it’s just music. It’s not like not getting the best part in a piece will make me not get into college. The most difficult part for me is just being grounded in the competitive atmosphere.
How have you grown as a musician from your experiences at Juilliard Pre-College and how will they prepare you for the future?
I’ve learned to become a flexible player, how to take direction well, and how to work well with other musicians. My repertoire has gotten a lot larger; I’m no longer learning things for the first time in a concert series, I might have already played them. Juilliard is a very rigorous place to be but it gives you something back. I feel like it’s going to be with me forever and I’m always going remember that I did it. The faculty is amazing. The people there are all committed to being musicians, so it’s like you don’t stand out, everybody there has the same goal. I’m just going to take away how much I’ve learned. My character’s going to change because of it, and I definitely think it is going to benefit my career in the future.
What does it require for a musician like yourself to be successful at Juilliard Pre-College?
In a program like Juilliard there has to be a lot of motivation. You can’t have a student who sits there and has their parents tell them what to do. The person has to know I have to practice x amount of hours to be this good and to stay on top of my grades. We get grades at Pre-College — two semester report cards like regular school. If you don’t take the time to learn your stuff, you’re letting yourself down as well as other people. You need to gain a sense of responsibility. To be successful you really have to have a drive to be the best. But can’t be a competitive drive, it has to be a motivated drive. The best musicians are the most responsible ones. I don’t think I’ve ever gone a day without practicing at least for a half hour. It can grow to three, shrink to one- it doesn’t matter. It just it has to happen.
Video by Giuliana Savini and Charlie Dorf
