The Music Makers

By Kris McGinn-Straub

Prudence looks concerned. As well she should. She is considering a tangle of girls struggling to free themselves from the string in which they have gotten themselves heartily stuck. This happy bit of chaos has disrupted Pru's canine obligation of steadfastly guarding the front door of The Music Asylum. It is Saturday and while one might imagine that the music school would be closed, or there would be faint sounds of a make-up music lesson taking place, the scene with the string might actually be more commonplace. These girls are, in fact, a rock band and they are taking a break from rehearsal to do a bonding exercise.

The Music Asylum, located in Essex, is run by Charlee Bianchini and Jack Tomaiolo (and their dog Prudence).  The pair came to the music school in decidedly different ways. Jack, who began playing music at the age of thirteen and earned his way to the esteemed Berklee College of Music considers himself to be an accidental music teacher.  While enjoying a successful solo musical career, Jack could not escape the idea that he did not want talented musical kids to miss the opportunities that he had.  He tried his hand at guitar instruction and has now been teaching music for over twenty years.  Charlee, on the other hand, knew she wanted to teach. Having begun playing classical guitar at the age of five and later moving into vocals, Charlee added a master’s degree in Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution, with a focus in youth leadership and empowerment, to her musical accomplishments while making her way to full-time teaching. It stands to reason that two individuals approaching the same goal with such benevolent inclinations might make something great; Which they have.

The first clue I had that The Music Asylum might be more than a traditional music school was two years ago during a Spaulding Night of the Stars event at the Manchester Essex High School.  There I witnessed a fourth grader with a guitar, that looked entirely too big for her, quietly seat herself on a stool in the middle of the enormous stage and begin to sing a song - while playing the guitar.  The song was about Singing Beach. It was thoughtful and sweet and both the singing and the guitar playing were very very good. She had written the song herself.  The experience was spellbinding. It turns out that the musician, Lucìa Logue Perron, had participated in the summer songwriting camp at The Music Asylum and her mesmerizing performance was the result.

The philosophy behind The Music Asylum is rooted in a more holistic and communal approach to music; The school seems to grow musicians rather than just teach music. Students are encouraged to collaborate - to form bands. Forming bands, Jack explains, helps the students organize, find a group based on musical interests rather than social ties, deal with band politics, be accountable and ultimately find their groove and feel a togetherness that will inform their own, individual, musical journeys.  Beyond this, though, it puts them on the path to what Charlee calls an “authentic musical experience”.  Both Jack and Charlee begin to hum with energy when they speak of this possibility.  The two hope to find some way, anyway, to give students the experience of feeling what it is like to be brave enough to create art, vulnerable enough to share it and then open enough to experience that moment of confluence when it all happens live.  Charlee comments that the single only thing better than this feeling is to add actually having the audience sing your lyrics back to you; Which has happened to the band Totality.

Jia Mulvey came to The Music Asylum as a shy introverted high school freshman.  Slowly, through her four years at The Music Asylum, she has become an undeniable musical force. She founded Totality which has become a celebrated local band. On New Year’s Eve, I watched her perform solo a beautifully powerful song written about her mother who passed away years earlier.  Later in the evening Totality took the stage and played to a group of friends and - fans. Jia was recently accepted to the Berklee College of Music.  Which brings us to another part of the whole. Beyond cultivating this joy of playing music, the school is active in preparing students for practical applications of their musical lives.  Jack spends time talking with the older high school students about how they can work in the music industry.  No longer buying into the idea that if you want to be a musician you will likely just end up broke and singing in bars, the school shows kids a way to love music and to pursue it professionally.

Since its founding in 2003 the school has expanded to encompass a truly vast array of musical instruction as well as jazz bands, group lessons and more summer songwriting programs. The space itself has taken on a life of its own.  During my time writing this I noticed that, in addition to coming and going for lessons or band sessions, kids were popping in to practice on available pianos, hang out on the sofa and talk music with their friends, or just be.  Which is the thing - true to its name, The Music Asylum has become a place you can feel safe to become something you want to be, encouraged to share a part of yourself that you might otherwise not.  It is a place to truly be yourself or maybe even - be a rock star.