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VALHALLA, N.Y. Eight music students of Southwest Westchester BOCES in Valhalla were chosen to experience, first-hand, the ins-and-outs of producing a quality music video Monday and Tuesday, on the John Lennon Bus, a national nonprofit organization featuring state-of-the-art mobile audio and HD video recording and production.
We all got a chance to express our feelings and get to see what recording was like, which was a great experience, said Ashley Blanshaw of Elmsford, who was chosen to sing for the video. Each of us got a chance to leave our dream.
The seven other students involved were Paul Bisda of Blind Brook (keyboard), Noel Estevez of Yonkers (rapper), Alondra Piacencio of New Rochelle (drums), Jordan Levy of Chappaqua (drums), Ashante Bristow Elmsford (singer), Vincent Tiberi of Mount Pleasant (lead guitar), and Alex Enright of Port Chester (trumpet).
The students worked with three crew members of the Lennon Bus, Hans Tanner, Kyle Badour, and Kyle LEsperance, who they said helped them feel like true recording artists.
Giving kids these amazing hands-on opportunities is what we live for, LEsperance said. I love the hype, the vibe, getting to work with the students, having fun, and giving the kids an opportunity that they otherwise wouldnt have.
Sarah Martibano, an advisory board member for Avid technology and BOCES regional and distance education coordinator, discovered the Lennon Bus through Avid and signed-up Southwest Westchester BOCES as part of its national tour.
We wanted to bring this experience to kids to get a sense of the world outside of their school, Martibano said. When they all walked in they were so disconnected from each other and they walked out and were like, I cant believe we actually did that. They felt like published artists.
Clement Ceccarelli, supervisor of career and technical education for Southwest Westchester BOCES, said he hopes the excitement the Lennon Bus has brought to the campus in those two days will be a springboard for the institutions own music program.
Over the past three years weve been doing all the research for a music studio technicians program and I think Westchester needs it, Ceccarelli said. We definitely have a lot of musically talented kids who I think would take full advantage of it.
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