Mr. Rob McGhee grabs his own guitar and struts toward the microphone, he gives the count “1, 2, 3” and what follows is one of his favorite songs “All the Things That I’ve done.” McGhee is one of the many faculty members who participates in the Jesuit Musicians Union, or JMU for short, helping out budding musicians in the club. Even though there are not formal meeting times for the club, members visit the Moodle page for upcoming events, and actively search for platforms to play.
When Mr. Corey Marr, freshman counselor and JMU leader, explained the club, he stated that “the club is for people who can sing, and play an instrument. They get signed up for the club via Moodle and put on the forum what instrument they play and whether instrumental or vocalist.”
Mr. Marr also added that they form bands on another forum, “They list their instrument so that they get a guitarist, bass player, singer, etc. so they get an even band. Then on the Moodle page there are events posted in which the bands can play.”
The events that these musicians can play at include prayer services, Masses, Ranger Day, Varsity football home games, Aware Fest, Jesuit Poluza, or Senior Dinner Night. The fact that the JMU will be participating in all of these events, shows that they are not only popular, but have strong support from the community.
“Ranger Day was our big highlight of the year to date,” says Mr. Marr. “But also before the Varsity games, we had five bands come out during the entire season. And we had bands play in prayer services, just like Mr. McGhee’s prayer service the other week.”
Ranger Day was a huge event for the JMU. Not only were the performances outstanding, but they comprised of new bands that haven’t played at a Jesuit event before. As Roberto Denegri ’15 put it “They had the look of new bands, but the sound of the music was great and they seemed like they were really enjoying the performance.” Sophomore Michael White, who performed on Ranger Day said “It was a lot of fun on the stage.” The JMU members are proud to be preforming for their classmates. They have fun while giving a skilled performance.
Not only did Michael White have a good time, the crowd seemed to deeply enjoy the music. Alex Gurun ’15 said that “his band was outstanding.” The JMU is not only full of camaraderie, but also talented players and the listeners can attest to this. As for events coming up, JMU will play at the Special Games the Senior Dinner Night coming up.
In order to set up for the performances they need some help and that is where Mr. McGhee comes in. “I try to help set up whenever we have student’s bands play on campus. I also help, generally, with the live performances, with sound quality, and things like that as much as possible.” The faculty members appreciate their dedication to the club, and believe in their mission, so they help the bands no matter if the faculty sets-up or plays with them.
“I enjoying being associated with the JMU, I am a proud musician. I think music is one of the most important aspects of human existence and music is very bonding to people,” continued Mr. McGhee.
The JMU, while fun and invigorating, is also a safe-haven for musicians. They get satisfaction when playing with each other because they all enjoy what they are doing. Mr. McGhee praised Jesuit, saying that “Jesuit does a good job of community no matter what activity the student does.”
Freshmen especially can benefit from this club because it gives them an opportunity to share a common bond with fellow classmates as well as upperclassmen. “Music is one of the big groups at Jesuit because music is easy to bond over and musicians tend to be open-minded, so they can find friends through this talent. That’s the true mission of the club,” said Mr. McGhee.
The Jesuit Musicians Union is looking for new talent to add to their club. If you are a musician, maybe you could be “open-minded” and join this successful organization and contact Mr. Marr via Moodle message or the Jesuit E-Mail, cmarr@jesuitcp.org.
