Senior Allie Lafitte and junior Courtney O’Donnell went to Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts this summer to work on their singing.
Allie went to Berklee’s Five Week Summer Performance Program, and Courtney did a four-day workshop.
Each summer, the program takes about 900 students from across the United States and around the world from nearly 70 different countries.
This program offers a large variety of classes for every student depending on their level of musical ability, what instrument they play, and what style of music they are interested in.
Veteran professors teach classes from songwriting techniques to private lessons appropriate for students on different levels in each class.
“My favorite part about the program was meeting many talented people. All of the teachers were amazing and gave great feedback, and the college experience at the school was great,” Courtney said.
Former headmaster and current Laguna parent, Mr. Doug Jessup, recommended the summer program to Courtney, and she thought it might be a great experience where she could really focus on singing.
Even though Courtney, who has been singing since she was 11, really liked Berklee, she does not want to go there for her four years of college.
She would rather have the full college experience and not just learn about music.
She does plan to major in music, and she definitely wants to pursue music as a career in the future.
Allie Lafitte has been singing since she was just a toddler. She first found out about the program from a family friend whose son had just attended the five-week program during the previous summer.
Allie then learned more about it on the Berklee College of Music website, and decided she wanted to go.
She made the decision because she loves to sing and she had never been in any formal classes for singing.
“My favorite part about the program was getting a preview of college life, being in a different city, and being able to work with professors that have been in the field for a long time,” Allie said.
A typical day at Berklee was getting breakfast at about eight, and starting classes at nine.
Depending on the day, you could have a break or another class, which would usually go until early evening.
“After classes I went to dinner with a bunch of friends in Boston, and after that we would come back to the dorm and all hang out in the basement,” Allie said.
Allie went into the program thinking she wanted to go to a college with all music, all the time. But, after five weeks there, she realized she wanted to keep singing as a hobby or a minor rather than a major.
In the future, Allie might want to have a career in music therapy, but she will most likely want to practice something different.
Allie would recommend the program to other music students because it’s a good chance to study music and you get to meet a lot of interesting people.