Educational Influence

GENEVIEVE ROSE

During her sophomore year of high school, Rose became interested in bass. In the school band, she won 20 Most Valuable Player awards from her sophomore to senior year. She participated in musical competitions in school and by her senior year, she decided that she was going to concentrate on stand up bass and jazz music. Rose continued her musical career at UMass Amherst. At Amherst, she double majored in music education and jazz performance meanwhile she worked part time, and was a student part-time.

JANE IRA BLOOM

Bloom attended public school in Boston and had the “typical experience of learning sax in the school system.” In 3rd grade, she was offered a list of instruments from which she had to choose from ie. clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, flute…” Bloom ultimately chose the sax because it was “shiny and different”. In High School, Bloom was a music jock, ““i marched to a different drummer in my younger years.. I just felt this passion to study music and to play, and I guess at the time that makes you different from how you spend your free time than other kids spend their free time”. Bloom attended Yale College where she received a liberal arts degree as a music major.

JOANNE BRACKEEN

“They didn’t really have school that much. There was one school called the WEstlake college of Music, and when she was 14 her parents took her there to study, there she studied with a piano player named DAve Robertson and Gene Garff.” The she really learned the art of improve. Hearing and tune trying to replicate the foundation, but at the same time adding your own originality to it.  Joanne matured into a very talented and intellectual individual. She was awarded a scholarship to study at the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music. ( Joanne Brackeen Jazz) Ironically, she seemed to excel beyond the bounds of a classroom, and ultimately made the decision to pursue music on her own. From there on out she was a self taught, determined, and independent young woman.

VI REDD

Vi didn’t initially imagine she’d have a career in music. “By the time [she] got out of high school, she wanted to teach music. [She] started out college wanting to be a music teacher, but all during this time [she] was performing,” recalls her father. In college, Vi learned to play the flute with great difficulty and because of this, turned back to the alto and tenor saxophone. Her band got together in the early 50’s and they would play at college sorority events and other gatherings of the same type. Vi’s road to formal teaching began when she taught a few blind students when she was in college. She received her B.S. in Social Sciences undergrad, so she eventually went back to gain her teaching credential at USC.