Drury Grad Trumpeter & 'SNL' Saxophonist Holding High School Jazz ClinicsBy Jack Guerino, iBerkshires Staff
03:15AM / Thursday, September 24, 2015 | |
 Richard Boulger, right, and Alex Foster are presenting a series of jazz clinics for students in Pittsfield, Cheshire and North Adams. |
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Drury High School graduate, professional trumpeter, and recording artist Richard Boulger will join "Saturday Night Live's" saxophonist Alex Foster to present a series of clinics for Berkshire County band students.
Boulger, who has studied under trumpet legends such as Freddie Hubbard and Donald Byrd and has recorded with musical greats such as the Allman Brothers Band and Randy Brecker, has a long career of educating musicians of all ages throughout New York City and New England.
The clinics are taking place next Wednesday and Thursday at Pittsfield and Taconic high schools and Reid and Herberg middle schools in Pittsfield, Hoosac Valley HIgh School in Cheshire and Drury High School.
The clinics will mostly focus on technique, instrument basics, and familiarizing students more with their instruments.
"One of the things I try to impart on students when I teach, no matter what age, is that the instrument is really an amplifier for what you are hearing and feeling as a musician," Boulger said. "We hope at the end of the day kids will learn how to cultivate a relationship with their musical instruments as a vehicle for them to express themselves."
Boulger graduated from Drury in 1984 and studied jazz at the University of Hartford, later earning his master's from Rutgers.
He said he will run a clinic for brass players and Foster, who has recorded and performed with music greats such as Herbie Hancock, Aretha Franklin, Miles Davis, Eddie Van Halen, Aerosmith, Elton John, and Paul McCartney among others, will run a clinic for the woodwind players.
Boulger said he hopes to not only inspire kids to take music more seriously but to show them that music can help in other aspects of their lives.
"The goal at the end of the day is to not just have kids become musicians but to introduce them to the possibility that playing a musical instrument is a real positive vehicle to open up other experiences they already have in their life such as their class work," Boulger said.
Boulger said the clinics are sponsored by musical instrument manufacturer RS Berkeley, which has made efforts over the years "to get instruments in kids' hands" and "raise music programs to a better place."
He added that he hopes they can "open up student's ears" and instill a want to be open to all kinds of music.
The clinics will stress the importance of "voice." Often young musicians focus too much on copying their idols, he said, but music is more than learning arrangements note for note. The real magic occurs when students can capture a great artist’s energy.
"You can internalize their ideas but also there is an energy when you listen to people like Jimi Hendrix, John Coltrane, or Miles Davis," Boulger said. "From there you figure out how you fit in ... and you figure out how to get that out in the world with a fresh perspective."
Alhough both he and Foster come from a heavy jazz background, the clinics will be beneficial for all musicians. Boulger would like to come back in the spring and host a jazz specific and improvisation clinic for the county's high school jazz bands.
Boulger said he is excited to be able to come back home and share his knowledge and experience with another generation of Berkshire County musicians.
"I have been wanting to do this for years ... It's a chance to bring back a lifetime of experiences and share them with young Berkshire County musicians," Boulger said. "I am just so excited and honored to be able to do this."
Boulger said he and Foster will be joining the band Gruppo Mondo on Wednesday, Sept. 30, at the Rainbow Restaurant on First Street in Pittsfield for those who want to hear them play. Show starts at 7:30 and runs to 10:30.
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