The kids are alright

A high school girl enters the stage at the beautiful Mondavi Center, blinded by the spotlights above her. She’s clearly petrified. Butterflies fill her stomach and a sympathetic audience shares her nervousness. With hesitance, she begins. It’s a beautiful opera, and with each rising note, she gains confidence. The crowd relaxes and enjoys the music. When she finishes, they roar with applause. She lights up like a Christmas tree.

Welcome to the Jammies.

This year marks the fifth anniversary of this two-day event. On March 17, we’ll be at the Crest for a Night of Contemporary Music. On March 30, we host an Evening of Classical Music at the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, UC Davis. Some of the areas most talented young musicians will be peforming, making the Jammies one of the hottest tickets in town.

Five years ago, shortly after the Mondavi Center first opened, the News & Review asked to host an event there, a concert that would gather the best high school musicians in the area to perform on the center’s new world-class stage. Much to our pleasant surprise, the center agreed. Then we encountered a slight problem. We had no idea who the best young musicians were.

We reached out to local high schools, seeking the most talented musicians for our first Evening of Classical Music, which focuses on more traditional music. We talked to music teachers and selected students who had received Golden Empire awards and other recognitions. Come concert night, we’d assembled a group of young classical musicians who astounded and amazed everyone there.

On the contemporary side of things, we had no idea who the best high school musicians were, either. We held a press conference at the Mondavi Center for high school journalists in order to get the word out. We asked for CD submissions. Thirty or so performing groups and solo artists responded. Of those, nine eventually played on the historic Crest theater’s stage. Much as their classical counterparts had wowed us with their technical expertise, these talented young contemporary musicians absolutely blew us away with their fun, innovative and original work.

In short, both shows were totally incredible. We were thrilled, and we immediately became true believers in what the Jammies could be and do: provide a showcase for local young musicians, so that their talent can be embraced and celebrated by all of Sacramento. So, for the last four years, the Jammies have continued to shine the spotlight on local young musicians.

Our main goal was to help the kids gain publicity, exposure, bookings, scholarships, and record contracts. We wanted to inspire them to further their craft. What we weren’t expecting was how much they would inspire us. One of the most rewarding aspects of working with young performers is the opportunity to enjoy music in its purest forms, before the awards and the recognition and the contracts and the egos have had the chance to muddle it all. Before all of that, it’s all about expression. It’s all about the music.

That became abundantly clear the first year we held the Night of Contemporary Music at the Crest. We gathered together 900 high schoolers, all from different ethnic and economic backgrounds, for an event featuring all types of music, from hip-hop to heavy metal to love ballads. With so many different groups and musical styles involved, we anticipated some friction, so we crossed our fingers and held our breaths.

Remarkably, no problems ever materialized. In fact, the vibe that first night—as it has been at every event since then—was incredible. In music, no matter what the style, the kids were united in their support for their peers. We’ve since it over and over again since then. As one high schooler put it, “This not may be my favorite sound, but that’s a Sacramento kid up there, one of us who has the guts to go out on that stage and play their own brand of music, and I’ve gotta get behind that.”

That’s been the essence of the Jammies from day one. The Evening of Classical Music and the Night of Contemporary Music recognize not only the talent of Sacramento’s young musicians, but their spirit. It’s the latter that enables a kid, for the love of music, to practice for hours on end, to put their heart and soul into mastering the masters or creating their own compositions.

The Jammies is a celebration. It celebrates great music and great artists who will blow you away with their skill, their innovation and their passion. It celebrates the friends and families who are there to support them.

It celebrates kids being heard.

It was perhaps said best by one of the ushers at the Mondavi: “We see everything here. We see all the world’s best artists come to this stage. But this is the most fun, most fulfilling show we’ve had all year.”

That’s the Jammies.

Please come and support this great event. Help push for more locations for kids to play their music, whether it be in schools, rec centers, churches or other venues. Support the drive, the love and the passion for music. You’ll be proud of what these youngsters can do. That’s message the Jammies seeks to communicate. These kids are alright.