June/July 2019 | Class of 2019 Spotlight: Joe Berick
Playing percussion has been a constant in Shaker Heights High School senior Joe Berick’s life since he first started taking drum lessons in the third grade. Since then, he’s added a few more instruments to his repertoire—the xylophone, the vibraphone, piano and guitar. He’s traveled to both Spain and Italy with the Shaker Heights High School Marching Band, where he plays the bass drum, and he’s played gigs with his younger brother, Will, as the opening act for local bands. For his senior project this year, Joe chose to shadow his former Mercer Elementary music teacher Ms. Rachel Luther, who says that Joe would be a natural as a music teacher.
“He’s very clear about communicating with others and he really listens,” says Ms. Luther. “The students just gravitated towards him. It became increasingly clear that it was one thing if I noticed something a student did, but it was something special for them if Joe noticed.” It’s no surprise then, that after Joe graduates, he plans to study music at Mercyhurst University, where he has earned three scholarships: the University Award Scholarship, an academic merit scholarship; the Mercyhurst Music Scholarship, an award given to music majors; and a Mercyhurst Marching Band Scholarship.
Learn more about Joe, his passion for music and what he’s looking forward to when he heads to Mercyhurst next fall:
Tell us about your life as a percussionist.
I’ve played the bass drum for the High School Marching Band all four years at the High School. But I’ve been playing drums since I was little. When I was in the third grade, I asked my parents if I could take lessons and I started playing at the Music Settlement. So I’ve been playing for almost 10 years. I also play the xylophone in the High School concert band and I play the vibraphone—it’s an instrument that’s similar to a marimba, but the keys are metal instead of wood and you can control the sound with a foot pedal that makes a kind of vibrating sound.
What is it that you like about percussion?
I like all the techniques to make the different sounds and I also like the different skills you have to use to do something like a long drumroll or playing a scale on the xylophone.
You’ve been involved with Jazz at the Music Settlement (J@MS). What’s that experience been like?
I started in J@MS when I was in the 8th grade. At that point, I really wasn’t interested in it at all, but my mom got me involved. Back then, I didn’t always like it, but now, I don’t complain about it because I learned a new way to develop musically and that prepared me for challenges ahead. J@MS helped me to be better at doing solos and it taught me how to improvise.
What music do you like to listen to?
I like listening to classical, some jazz, rock and some blues. I like listening to the Beatles and a little bit of Led Zeppelin.
You’ve also been a swimmer for the High School team. What have you learned from the sport of swimming?
Swimming isn’t an easy sport.I started when I was little using a pull buoy and then I started swimming on my own. Then when I got to High School, I learned that in order to succeed, you need to train hard and go at the speeds and distances the coach wants you to go.
How are you feeling about leaving for Mercyhurst?
I’m mostly excited but I’m also a tiny bit nervous. Since I was 12, I’ve wanted to go to college— I’m not sure that I knew what I wanted to do, but as the years went by I started to love music and that got me more interested in studying it. I’m looking forward to making new friends, learning more about performance and education, and just trying to do a goo d job of living on my own. I think that being in the AIM program will help me out a lot with this. [The Autism Initiative at Mercyhurst (AIM) program provides support to the school’s students who are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders.] Most people don’t know I have autism until I tell them. But it’s who I am. It’s the way I was born.
For three weeks in July, I’ll be at Mercyhurst taking a class and getting used to campus life; it’ll kind of be like camp. It’ll take some time and preparation for me to get the college feel. It’s a new step for me, but it’s one that I’m prepared for.
After college, what are your plans?
I don’t know yet. I’ll take it one step at at time.