HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — This week the Patel Conservatory is hosting a Jazz Intensive camp where the students don’t mind playing in the dark. They’re following their instructor’s lead because he’s been blind his whole life.
When you enter the classroom of jazz instructor Matt Weihmuller, before even picking up your instrument or playing a note, you are already inspired.
Weihmuller, a Tampa native, may be blind, but he can always sense the impact he is having on his students.
“I call it turning your disadvantage into an advantage; every student has some sort of issue learning music whether they have a disability or not,” said Weihmuller.
Bass player Charlie Levandoski has attended the Jazz Intensive camp for the past few years.
“I have Asperger’s; I have a lot of problems with social interaction, so I can relate to him in that way, I guess,” said Levandoski.
Weihmuller would have never become a professional musician without support from his teachers, and now, it's Matt at the head of the class.
“So I try to convey what I’ve done as someone who is blind, tell them about some of the times I tried to quit music, to try to inspire them to keep playing,” said Weihmuller.
Weihmuller said he’s no ordinary jazz player, so he’s certainly not going to teach jazz in an ordinary way.
“So I teach improvisation; it's about coming up with your own spontaneous material on the spot,” said Weihmuller. “So as an exercise, I turn the lights off, make everyone play in the dark, and this, of course, scars all the students, and I say, ‘welcome to every day of my life.’”
Trumpet player Claire Horner said playing outside her comfort zone has made her a more confident musician and person.
“Improve is all about not knowing the notes; you have to make it up based on prior knowledge; it’s not like you have to read the music, you have to do it verbatim, it’s all about doing it yourself,” said Horner.
This week-long camp leads to a live concert at The Straz Friday, June 30, at 7 p.m. For more information, go to www.strazcenter.org.
