They come from all over the world; some are here from as far away as Russia. They work late nights before clocking in for their passion projects and never clamor for attention. From the time the gates open at 4:30 p.m. Thursday to when they close around midnight on Sunday, they’ll be making music happen at Clearwater Jazz Holiday — and we’re not talking about the musicians.
We’re talking about Saint Petersburg College (SPC) students enrolled in the school’s Music Industry and Recording Arts program (MIRA) who’ll be at Coachman Park, working tirelessly to make attendees experience the best festival possible.
“You can see it in their faces, and they will tell you how meaningful and fulfilling the experiences are for them,” Steve Weinberger told CL.
He’s a Jazz Holiday lifer who has worn many hats on the board of the Clearwater Jazz Foundation, the organization responsible for staging the festival while also creating education opportunities in the Bay area. Weinberger, 42, was a lawyer in his prior life and is now on staff as CEO, a full-time position he’s held since last March. He coordinates with SPC staffers like MIRA Career Outreach Specialist Rosaria Pipitone to place students into every facet of production, including photography, journalism, stage and video production, culinary arts, graphic design and merchandising, as they pick up real-world insight into the music and festival businesses. The students also get to rub elbows and work with a community of festival partners and vendors.
“It is extremely rewarding to watch the students gain valuable contacts and even job opportunities,” Weinberger said.
Andrey Gleis is a benefactor of said opportunities. One year ago, Gleis, 20, left Long Island, New York to attend the MIRA program. He considered Tennessee and Texas as places to pursue his dream of working in music production & engineering, and settled on The ‘Burg after reading reviews of the program and experiencing the climate. “I love the hot weather,” he said. It’s befitting, considering Gleis was adopted in Moscow, Russia just 12 years ago.
He says his adoptive parents are thrilled he’s here chasing a dream. Last year, Gleis was an onstage volunteer at the Jazz Holiday, where he worked alongside techs from Tampa production company ESI to help load talent in, soundcheck and load them out. By the end of his shifts, Gleis was handed a business card and told to call the ESI office on Monday to see about doing the same thing for a paycheck.
Another young man offered a job that day is Andrew Holness, who relocated from St. Augustine before landing at MIRA. Holness, 20, has been playing drums for ten years and initially attended the University of Tampa before transferring to SPC. He and Gleis were fast friends and now collaborate on several production projects with artists across the globe. When CL caught up with Holness, he and Gleis were throwing the football outside after a day of composing. Since gaining part-time employment at ESI, Holness said he has worked on productions at Sunset Music Festival, WildSplash and Sunshine Blues.
“[Jazz Holiday] is the very reason we’re even giving you quotes right now. I could not be any happier,” Gleis added before whipping out an old adage passion people like to use when explaining their unique occupations to loved ones who wonder why 17-hour days and years of meager pay would appeal to anyone: “There is a difference between a job and a career. If you love what you do for a living, you will never work a day in your life.”
Not everyone is so lucky, though. Holness explained that not every volunteer landed more permanent work. “The offer was a surprise for sure. I feel blessed,” he said.
Post-graduate life isn’t a cakewalk, either. Pipitone, 33, is responsible for making sure MIRA students walk across the stage with contacts and opportunities earned during their time at SPC. She says it’s much easier to place students in jobs if they are willing to relocate to other cities, but does offer the ones who want stay local a plan to make sure their music-related income grows to eventually account for the majority of their yearly earnings. It’s easier said than done, but the X-factor in success stories is easy to spot. She cites a common trait that Holness, and Gleis share with fellow SPC students Keturah Allyson and Derell Parrott, who’ll be interviewing artists all weekend at Jazz Holiday’s media tent:
“These four jump at every opportunity that comes to them,” Pipitone said. “all on top of their studies and work.” Allyson is a lifelong professional singer who has already raised kids. She found herself in MIRA after considering it for her own daughter. She landed at MIRA in more non-traditional ways, but her journey toward a different kind of life in music is the same as her classmates'. Their efforts — along with those of Holness and Gleis — remain exceptional, and their mentors marvel at the way the work has coalesced with good timing and a little luck to create these big breaks.
“Derrell comes straight to work after working at the hospital,” Pipitone said. “This group is reliable, and they’re quick with a ‘yes, I’ll do it,’ when it comes to workshops, gigs and even menial tasks like manning tables at events.”
These kids — alongside every other student volunteer — will man their own figurative tables at Jazz Holiday again this weekend, but don’t be surprised if you end up seeing them running those tables completely one day soon.
Clearwater Jazz Holiday runs from Thursday October 13 to Sunday October 16. More information is available via local.cltampa.com.
This article appears in Oct 13-20, 2016.