The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Sonny Rollins gift establishes ensemble
Through a gift to Oberlin College, a jazz legend has ensured his legacy of giving and music will live on.
According to a release, saxophone virtuoso and composer Sonny Rollins has made a donation establishing the Oberlin Conservatory of Music Sonny Rollins Jazz Ensemble Fund.
The ensemble will begin auditions among Oberlin jazz studies majors in spring 2018, the release said.
Auditions will be held annually and students can be accepted at any time during their conservatory education, according to the release.
Incoming students could be accepted into “The Sonny Ensemble” once they decide to attend the college.
Each student will be judged on four criteria: their audition with the jazz faculty; academic achievement; their response to a question about jazz’s place in the world; and their “service to humanity,” the release said.
Those accepted, will be required to dedicate two semesters to the group, according to the release.
This last criterion is what sets “The Sonny Ensemble” apart from other groups on campus.
The group will require “a commitment to service through music and willingness to give for others,” according to the release.
“The humanity element has to be a big presence in everything young players do,” the 87-year-old Rollins said in the release. “People are hungry for a reason to live and to be happy.
“We’re asking these young musicians to look at the big picture, to tap into the universal power of a higher spirit, so they can give people what they need.”
Giving back to others teaches inner peace and inner spirituality, Rollins said.
Everything is going to be open for them if they devote themselves in this way, he said.
Members of the ensemble will fulfill the requirement by taking part in a required winter term project which must be approved by the student’s principal studio professor.
According to the release, as a sign of their commitment, members of the ensemble, or Sonny Scholars, will sign the Sonny Scholar Ledger below Rollins’ signature.
The cover of the ledger bears this quote from Rollins: “Trust that later on in life, there’s something bigger for you when you serve others.”
The ledger will be displayed in the Bertram and Judith Kohl Building alongside a 1972 Selmer Mark VI tenor saxophone, played by Rollins, that also was part of his gift to the school, the release said.
“This gift is incredibly powerful for us,” said professor Bobby Ferrazza, director of the division of jazz studies, in the release. “It creates a direct link for our students to one of the greatest musicians in the history of jazz — and to his ideals.
“In aspiring to participate in this group, our students will be imbued with the humanity and musical values established by Mr. Rollins himself. The founding principles of the ensemble will be singularly inspirational for our department, today and for generations to come.”
The release advises anyone interested in supporting the ensemble to visit www.oberlin.edu/donate, email giving@oberlin.edu, or call 440-775-8273.
Giving back to others teaches inner peace and inner spirituality, Rollins said.