My Music Man

Brennen was on the front page of the paper last week with his school choir pictured during their concert.
  (well I can't upload the photo here because it is private or copywritted and I am not very good at all this computer stuff anyway.  I need B's help.  or I need to take a photo of the newspaper)

And he name was mentioned in the article:
      "At the end of their set on Oct. 15, the Low Tones performed an arrangement of "Gone, Gone, Gone" by singer-songwriter Phillip Phillips. Senior Brennen Berkley arranged the song, and it was initially performed at a high school talent show in September by Lucas and seniors Brian Farley and Eli Briody-Pavlik.
     "Members of the men's choir stepped off the risers and formed a semi-circle around Berkley, Lucas, Farley and Briody-Pavlik on stage while performing the pop music piece." 

So they mistaken wrote that Bren is a senior but he is a junior.  Brennen and his boys got 3rd place in the talent show.  They did it a capella with Brennen beating on a drum. He used Garageband--a program on his computer.


He told me that after the concert someone asked for his autograph.  What impressed me about the talent show was Bren's ambition and assertiveness.  Last year he played his guitar and sang by himself.  This year he asked some guys in his choir if they wanted to do a song with him and he arranged a song for them to do. (ya, I should have had a video of the talent show or the concert to post here, but ya, I am not that kind of on the ball kind of parent.)  

When Bren was in kindergarten he saw a performance of a kids choir (TaVaci) and wanted to join.  So he did and sang in it until 4th grade.  He started playing piano sometime in elementary school and had guitar lessons off and on starting in 5th grade.  In sixth grade he joined the middle school band as a percussionist and learned bells, xylophone, and drums, etc.  He played the marimba in a few solo & ensemble competitions during mid school and one judge told him he was on his way to a scholarship if he kept it up.  In 7th grade he played the bass guitar in the school Jazz band.  In 8th grade he tried the Saxophone for one semester.

Ninth grade he played with the high school Marching Band the fall semester then switched to choir.  This year he joined the orchestra playing cello, which he has never played before.  He is also in the men's choir and plays the piano for the Jazz band.  (yes he has 3 music classes)  

And he is still taking piano lessons.  He has a youtube channel youtube.com/brennenberkley where he has recorded some covers (I didn't know that a "cover" is when you sing someone else's song but now I know) in his recording studio: his bedroom.

He tried out for the all-state choir last week and made it!  He was pretty surprised.  


oh-here is a picture he posted on facebook at bit ago with the comment "And this is what your room looks like when you spend all of your free time playing music..."

(his room is usually pretty clean--too clean for a teenager)

Funny but I never thought of having musical kids.  I play the piano and was always in the school choir since 5th grade.  My junior year I didn't sign up for a choir class because I didn't make audition choir. But that lasted only a few weeks until I changed my schedule around to sing in the girls' choir because I missed it so much. (I did sing in the top choir my senior year). I always loved music. However, I was (still am) a sports nut. I thought I would have sports kids. 

Sports was always my first passion.  I came from a sports family.  My dad played college football and me and all of my siblings played some kind of school sports for at least a few years--most of us varsity high school sports. My mom played city and church sports (and would have played school sports but girls didn't get to do that back then).  And if not we are not playing, the we like to watch.  Then I married into a family that wasn't so sportsy.  Which is fine.

I just always thought I would have sports kids.  But I don't.  Except maybe Andy.  The have all played sports now and again and aren't bad but they are not competitive like me and don't have the drive.

I have musical children.  Dustin played percussion and guitar also and was the Drum Major his senior year.  

Janessa and Cameron are both doing well at the piano.  Andy has had some piano and is now learning trumpet in middle school.  He and Janessa are excellent singers.  

Musical children are great! and I love them! 

 (but I have to admit I would rather watch a soccer or volleyball game than a band concert)