The upcoming Germantown Jazz Festival — scheduled for April 25-27 — aims to celebrate the art form embedded in the culture of the historic neighborhood for decades. As with all traditions, maintaining a thriving jazz community in Germantown requires cultivating a new generation of musicians. That is why Brian Bersh, the music department chair of Germantown Friends School (GFS), is excited that the school’s youth jazz ensemble will be performing at the festival.
“Germantown has been a place for artists for a long time, and I’m hopeful that this is just a new iteration of the ways in which we can engage our local artists,” Bersh said in an interview with the Local. “I recognize how much we have to learn from the community and I really hope there can be a reciprocal relationship moving forward with our young artists.”
Although this is the first Germantown Jazz Festival, and thus the first time GFS has performed at such an event, Bersh is uniquely prepared to lead the ensemble. During his former job at Arlington Public Schools in Virginia, Bersh was the first host of the Jazz at Lincoln Center’s “Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition for the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. Now in his third year at GFS, Bersh was attracted to similar opportunities available at the school.
The Germantown Jazz Youth Ensemble is composed of four high school students: Zekie Lieberman, Sam Desai, Zeke Hammarhead, and Jiaray Shi. Each is a member of a larger jazz ensemble that meets as a class at GFS, but their preparation for the festival is entirely on a volunteer basis.
“I want to give all the props to the students,” Bersh said. “They've been volunteering extra time to come in and work together, and I'm just helping to facilitate the experience for them to make sure that they have what they need to be successful for the coming festival.”
This will not be the first time the ensemble has performed together. The group played for the first time in February at SOUTH Restaurant and Jazz Club in Philadelphia’s Spring Garden neighborhood. That performance led Bersh to ask about their interest in another opportunity.
“I approached [the students] and said, ‘You’ve been putting in this time and you sound great,’” Bersh said. “As a reward and recognition of the time they had put in, I wanted to see whether they’d be interested in participating in [the Germantown Jazz Festival] as well.”
Festival founder Khadijah Renee welcomes their participation. "We have to keep jazz alive and we must pass the torch to the younger generations in order to do that," Renee said.
In terms of instrumentation, Bersh says the ensemble is an interesting case. While there will be the typical drums, bass, and piano, there is also a violin. This means in addition to jazz standards, the group is also developing arrangements for songs by contemporary pop artists. Bersh guides the students in transcribing their own sheet music and working on improvisation, but the decisions ultimately come down to the ensemble.
“They’re making all the choices, which is really lovely to see young musicians take that ownership, take those risks, and put themselves out there as improvisers and creators,” Bersh said. “It’s a big mix of music that they’re pulling from — either past experience or trying for the first time to make sure their set has some variety and interest for a wide range of listeners.”
For these high schoolers, the benefits of playing jazz are abundant. They aren’t only having fun, they are also discovering their sense of self.
“Jazz is such a great medium to express agency, where they can be autonomous as music makers,” Bersh said. “It’s democracy in action and a beautiful expression of self-will and personality. They’re able to develop the skills that allow them to create and collaborate and make things that are unique and will be heard for the first time.”
According to Bersh, the students are excited and grateful to perform along with several other youth ensembles, including the Lovett Hines Youth Jazz Ensemble and the Lower Merion Youth Jazz Combo. They are also eager to be on the same program with storied names such as Bobby Watson, a celebrated saxophonist.
“They’re really chomping at the bit to be sharing a stage that evening with all these great players and are just excited about the idea that Germantown is going to have a jazz festival,” Bersh said.
The Germantown Jazz Youth Ensemble will be performing on the first day of the Germantown Jazz Festival, April 26. The performance will take place at Germantown Friends Meeting House (47 W. Coulter St.) at 5 p.m. For more information, visit the Local’s Calendar section and germantownjazzfestival.com.
