On Saturday, October 26th, student musicians from Gates and SHS had the opportunity to perform with 16 professional musicians, some of whom are members of the Boston Pops and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Held in the Performing Arts Center (PAC), this collaborative performance, “Come Fly With Me! A Swingin Affair,” featured Big Band music promoted as “a tribute to the Great American Songbook and the famed ‘Rat Pack.'”
The idea for this special musical event started when SHS music teacher William Richter heard a recording of a swing music concert and then went to the SPS Fine and Performing Arts Department Chair James Thomas with the idea for the group to play at Scituate High School with student musicians. Since the professional musicians are from Boston and the New York City area, they had to plan the event well in advance.
Richter first met with the band’s program director, and they laid out a plan, including ticket sales for students and senior citizens and group discounts. They also consulted with specialists to ensure everything would work well with the sound and equipment at the PAC. Additionally, they planned a master class for students to learn side-by-side with the professionals.
Michelle McGrath is the managing director of A Swingin Affair Big Band. McGrath organized the event’s social media promotions and cross-marketing to senior centers in neighboring towns. The GoFan website was used to sell tickets.
According to Richter, practice before the event consisted of a master class led by the “main guy” in the band. He had a simple method of teaching the students about improvisation, and everybody seemed to catch on. “He’s a wonderful educator,” said Richter. The professional musicians enjoyed getting the chance to practice with young musicians. SHS senior flutist Caitlin Quinlan noted, “I really liked it–it’s different from what we’ve done. We’ve never had professionals come in before–or at least I haven’t.”
Gates Middle School music teacher Gregory Lessard said his students were happy they could join this experience: “They were excited to play whenever they got the opportunity,” he said. Gates students even practiced one song, “Azure,” for months to impress the professionals. During the master class, one of the members would play a scale on the piano, and the students would go through and do it on their own, one at a time. Lessard explained how he hoped his students would display their talent: “I’ve always believed they can achieve high levels of play, and they really outdid themselves.”
Lessard said he knew many students were nervous about meeting professional musicians, but they were excited overall. He remarked, “Once they heard the professionals play, their eyes really lit up–they saw their instruments played at top level.” Richter added that the students had an “eye-opening” experience. He remembered the look on one student’s face as he heard the professionals start playing: “He was amazed.”
The evening performance started with the professionals performing a few songs on their own. Next, the students joined them to perform jazz music. Quinlan was thrilled to play jazz, saying, “It was something just for us, which we don’t get a chance to do a lot.” She added that it was “cool” to hear the difference between the middle school, high school, and professional levels. Richter added, “Jazz music is fun–it’s really, really fun.”
After the collaborative pieces were finished and the students left the stage, the professional 16-piece band played Frank Sinatra songs such as “Fly Me to the Moon,” “I’ve Got the World on a String,” and “New York, New York.” Professional vocalists Donnie Norton and Steve and Sarah Bass kept the audience entertained. Quinlan commented, “It was very nice because I like that type of music.” She was amazed to see the professional musicians switching instruments during songs.
The event’s audience was primarily comprised of senior citizens and young families. Quinlan stated that her favorite part of the night was watching people get up and dance to the music: “It’s not just fun for us because we get to play–it’s fun for the audience, too. There were older couples up dancing in the aisles, and it was really cute.”
Richter added, “It was just a night of very fun music.”
If you missed the chance to see this spectacular concert–it will be back! “Come Fly With Me! A Swingin Affair” will return to Scituate on October 25th, 2025, and Richter predicts that almost all seats will be filled.