Junior spends summer immersed in musical environment

For years, junior Esha Krishnamoorthy has dreamed of being a music sensation, singing before large audiences who chant her name over and over again.  

In order to experience a taste of life as a musician, Krishnamoorthy enrolled in the Five Weeks Performance Program at the Berklee College of Music in Boston this past summer.  

The intensive program started on July 11 and ended on Aug. 15. In order to  have the “full college experience,” she decided to live on  a college campus and take  college classes. She also wanted to learn more about the fundamentals in music.

In her classes, she studied everything from ear training, also called musicianship, to songwriting. In addition, she was able to attend clinics where visiting artists, such as Berklee alumni, shared their knowledge of the music industry.

“My favorite class in the program was musicianship,” Krishnamoorthy said. “Musicianship refers to ear training and getting better on rhythm and solfege reading skills [a method used to teach pitch and sight singing]. My teacher was so fun and taught my class how to sing ‘Billie Jean’ by Michael Jackson entirely in solfege syllables.”

The program helped students learn musical versatility. For example, for one project, each musician was placed in an ensemble where they learned how to work with different types of musicians.

In this ensemble, Krishnamoorthy worked with guitarists, bassists, drummers and singers from different countries to create a cohesive performance.

Additionally, Krishnamoorthy met many well-known artists. Singers such as Charlie Puth and Livingston Taylor visited the students, performed and gave them advice about what they should expect as a professional music artist.

“I had been feeling very self-critical of my music and was seriously doubting myself, but after [Puth and Taylor’s] clinic, I walked out of the auditorium with a little more confidence,” Krishnamoorthy said.

Although enthusiastic about attending the camp, Krishnamoorthy came away  feeling somewhat disappointed.

One letdown was her living situation.

“I had never had a roommate before this experience and after, I don't think I ever want to have a roommate ever again,” she said. “Enough said.”

However, her greatest struggle was with her severe homesickness.

Being 2,704 miles away from her family, Krishnamoorthy struggled to find her place in the college summer course.  She describes herself as a “family-based” person, and she said  without them she was scared, alone and felt “empty.”

The camp taught her to “appreciate [her] family and home so much more.”

“I cried myself to sleep every night for weeks, missing home and my family like crazy,” Krishnamoorthy said.

In hindsight, Krishnamoorthy said she wishes the camp were less repetitive.

Instead, Krishnamoorthy said she would have liked to study more theory-related topics, such as chord progressions, in greater depth.

“I don’t know if I would do this program again,”  Krishnamoorthy said. “Maybe if my family decided to come with me to Boston, or if Berklee implemented new courses, I would.”