If you like an instrument that sings,” said famed musician Stan Getz, “play the saxophone. At its best it’s like the human voice.” Josh Rose of Princeton Junction, a junior at High School South, is well acquainted with the instrument. His studies with the saxophone have spanned school years, summers, and two continents. His attachment to the arts is deep-seated, across a number of disciplines: “Every time I’m doing something in the arts, I love what I’m doing.” Prior to studying the saxophone, Josh experienced the arts from a different angle, as Tiny Tim in McCarter Theater’s “A Christmas Carol,” from 1999 to 2002. This role was something of a legacy, as his older brother Ben played the part several years prior to Josh. “Ben’s the reason I do all of this,” says Josh. “He’s my role model in the arts.”
Josh’s saxophone studies blossomed the summer before ninth grade, when he enrolled in Princeton High School jazz band director Joe Bongiovi’s Philadelphia Jazz Orchestra Jazz Week, two week-long summer camp sessions that provide young musicians across a variety of skill levels with an immersive summer enrichment experience.
Josh’s best friend from another school system had also enrolled, and the summer sessions would allow for ample time to spend together, which was harder to coordinate during the busy school year. “The camp, however, exceeded my expectations,” says Josh. “I learned a lot in addition to getting a chance to hang with my best friend.”
Josh appreciates the in-depth nature of the courses of study at the camp: “It’s a hands-on experience with lots of clinicians and in-depth teachers. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, and I like to work hard and focus on really working on one thing, which isn’t always easy when you’re pulled in different directions in the course of a school year.”
He says the extensive time spent on one focused area as “different — in a good way.” A typical day at the camp features ample time to play in various ensembles and under the tutelage of a series of instructors in an intensive week-long session. “It was my first real taste of what a professional music experience was really like. It was certainly enlightening.”
Josh enjoyed his experience at Bongiovi’s camp so much that he returned for a second summer, before his sophomore year. Students play for an hour or two in the morning, and then have a history of jazz course, with lectures and videos focusing on different eras and influences on jazz.
“We then play a little more in a group, and then a series of clinicians come in, on a variety of instruments.” Each day features a different guest artist and instrument. Guest artists have included luminaries such as saxophonist Denis DiBlasio and trumpeter George Rabbai, both of whom are on the Rowan University music faculty, and guitarists Vic Juris and Jimmy Bruno, performing with students in a gig-style environment. “When you’re playing with someone who’s that good, it really inspires you to be better,” Josh says. Many of the guest artists stay after the clinic and jam with the students.
These informal, after-hours sessions with professionals led to an unexpected opportunity for Josh. Between his sophomore and junior years of high school, Josh planned to return to camp for a third summer of study, only to be thrown the best kind of curve ball. The Philadelphia Jazz Orchestra reached out to Josh, and asked him to play with them on a 10-day concert tour of Italy, including locations in Florence, Rome, and Tuscany. “The crowds were fantastic,” says Josh. “It was such an amazing experience to tour these beautiful venues, these really old, beautiful churches, and whole towns would come and watch us. To tour and feel what it’s really like to be a part of a professional group was incredible.”
While Josh maintains a well-rounded view of his future, he notes that many of the students from the camp do go on to music schools like Berklee College of Music, Boston Conservatory, and Philadelphia’s University of the Arts. Josh says that the culture of dedication and practice at the camp sets its students up for success: “You’ve just got to practice; being with private teachers who are professionals really inspires all of us. You can really go the distance, but you’ve got to put in the work.”
Josh’s mother, Gail, a yoga instructor, echoes his sentiments on the value of the jazz camp. “It really adds invaluable enrichment to studying music, and both of my children have benefited from their experiences in the arts.”
Josh’s father, Bill, is a vice president of marketing for an area business. Josh’s older brother, Ben, a 2007 graduate of West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South, will graduate this May from the University of Southern California. He originally majored in jazz percussion but changed to international relations. He is in a band called the Derik Nelson Band and plans on pursuing a career in the music business.
Josh participates year-round in several instrumental jazz groups at the high school and plays varsity baseball. He credits his aforementioned tours of duty as Tiny Tim with a healthy appreciation for public speaking and performing. “McCarter taught me lessons for life in learning how to operate in a professional environment. The people were great, and the feeling of performing in front of big crowds was tremendous. I still have shelves full of memorabilia and newspaper cutouts. It really set me off into the arts.”
Josh currently performs with High School South’s Pirate Players in “Cucumber Tales,” a play designed to teach fourth graders the values of acceptance. This summer he plans to get a job, continue playing with the Philadelphia Jazz Orchestra, and visit colleges. He has his sights on several colleges, including NYU, Carnegie Mellon, and Washington University in St. Louis. While he’s entertaining the idea of minoring in music, he says, he also hopes to sing in a collegiate a cappella group. “I’m keeping all my options open. I’m thinking of studying business, but that’s a decision I have yet to make. I know I’ll be bringing my saxophone with me, wherever I go.”
Philadelphia Jazz Orchestra Jazz Week, Princeton High School, Walnut Lane. Two one-week programs, featuring small group instruction, ensemble work, jazz history, theory/ear training, performance opportunities, and master classes and performances by guest artists. Founder and director: Joe Bongiovi. $400 for one week; $650 for two. Visit www.philadelphiajazzorchestra.com/pjo_jazz_week.
