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Moonlighting Musicians
Talent Hits a High Note at FIS
Restaurant and nightclub lights illuminate the streets of Alt Sachsenhausen in Frankfurt. Loud
university students, stag parties, hen dos, date-nighters and club-goers populate the streets. Down an inconspicuous alleyway, sandwiched between a rock-and-roll venue and a Thai restaurant rests the Jazz Keller Summa Summarum. An ominous- looking, 17th-century door serves as the entryway to an era and musical genre not found on the main strip. Through that door the smooth sounds entice jazz-lovers down a flight of stairs to a casual lounge.
On stage you may be surprised to find FIS’s very own Phillip Benson playing trombone alongside Jane Lazarovic on bass in a Jazz Combo called Perdido. Mr. Benson, who’s been teaching music at the FIS Primary School for 22 years, and Ms. Lazarovic, who is an after school bass instructor, belong to a society of unpresuming FIS musicians who moonlight in their off time. During the day these modest musical geniuses patiently guide our youths through varied subjects. After students are dismissed from their tutelage and into our parental care, many head off to their own extracurricular musical activities – orchestras, studio recordings, private parties, and a plethora of musical groups.
Peter Schwaninger, who plays the trombone and is also an Upper School German and Theory of Knowledge (TOK) teacher says, “Instruments are made to be played, and that’s what you’re supposed to do: play!”
Having fun while keeping audiences entertained is exactly what FIS’s moonlighting musicians do. Mr. Schwaninger plays in a number of groups: Blech 10, a brass ensemble specializing in pop and classic; Die Rheingau Film-Symphoniker; The Young Classic Sound Orchestra of Karlsruhe;
Mr. Schwaninger and trombone and Der philharmonische Verein in
Frankfurt.
Sadegh Moazzen, who has been teaching guitar at FIS since 1999, composes and records original classical guitar pieces. In 1994 he released a compilation album with flutist K. Shahroudi called Konzert für Flöte und Gitarre and in 2004, released a DVD compilation entitled A Cultural Journey. A Cultural Journey pays homage to the artistic mentorship of Mr. Moazzen’s brother while simultaneously delving into his Persian roots and comparing four centuries worth of cultural backgrounds from the East and West.
Violinist Emanuele Breda provides private lessons to young musicians, instructing nearly one third of the violinists in FIS’s orchestras. But she also performs around the country in German and French Baroque orchestras, including the Bachorchester Mainz and Le Concert Lorraine. She has also formed her own group, Il Quadro Animato.
Professional freelance horn player, Catherine Eisele, teaches piano to students “physically younger than
Perdido at the Summa Summarum
their internal passion for music.” Outside of school, she also performs with groups such as the SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg and the Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim. In 2008, Ms. Eisele was also featured in the soundtrack for the 2008 film Die Biene Maja (Maya, the Bee).
The handful of musicians featured are a living representation of the dozens of professional performers at FIS who have dedicated their expertise to the future of music – our children. Each provides students with a different perspective of education and life through art, and exemplify what happens when “practice makes perfect.”
Such lessons cannot be contained in a textbook or single encounter, but must be personified through the educator. Musicians at FIS help cultivate students both academically and artistically. As a parent, I am humbled by their dedication to our youth and honesty with themselves to keep playing when the day is done.
Cavaris King, FIS Parent
February 2016 FIS World 19