JENNY PIXLER AND HER MUSICAL FRIENDS
Marylhurst Messenger
June, 2009
 
By Jonnie Martin
  
Stand outside of St. Catherine Hall, and you hear music of all kinds wafting out of every crevice.  Walk into the Bookstore, and you’ll find vocalist Jenny Pixler’s CD on sale.  Follow Jenny Pixler around campus, in and out of St. Catherine Hall, and you’ll meet some of Jenny’s many musical friends.  I’ll leave it up to you to meet some of the others on campus or at concerts, and discover the many hidden talents we have at Marylhurst, but today let me introduce you to Jenny and just four of her musical friends:  Nithi Visessook, Eric Bleich, Katie Koch and William Perry.

Jenny Pixler originally hails from Arizona, where she grew up in a blues and jazz family, and around religious music in a progressive Catholic church.  By the time she was 14 she was already under the wing of Catholic singer-songwriter Tom Booth; by 16 she was singing at retreats and weddings and a protégé of Matt Maher, a music minister with Oregon Catholic Press (OCP) in Portland, singing backup and duets on albums.

As much as she loved her music, Jenny was not sure where it fit in her future, and psychology seemed like a practical career so she began  that course of study in community college.  When it came time to mix her own CD at an OCP studio in Sellwood, Jenny discovered Marylhurst’s Music Therapy program and it seemed the perfect blend of her interests in music and psychology.  After the first two years she made another change in major, to a BA in Religious Studies/Theology, and will also earn a Certificate in Sacred Music and a Minor in Music.

Somehow, in addition to a big  class load, Jenny manages to continue her music outside of school, to play in the Marylhurst ensemble which focuses on jazz, and to start a campus ministry music group.  You can learn more about Jenny on the OCP website (www.spiritandsong.com/artists/jennypixler) and hear her special blend of rock, funk, R&B, pop, blues and folk, all with a religious message, on her CD Invitation.

Nithi Visessook was born in Bangkok, Thailand, and played the piano since age 10, but when it was time for formal education, he went to medical school.  He then came to the U.S. for a Master’s in the new field of bio medical engineering.  By 2008 Nithi had discovered that the Marylhurst Music Therapy program was a perfect place to combine his medical training and his love of music.  Since then, Nithi has made another change — to a BA in Music with a focus on Composing.

Medicine’s loss is music’s gain.  Although Nithi’s early musical training in Thailand was in classical music, he likes to create, which led him into jazz (he’s the pianist for Marylhurst’s jazz ensemble).  In his composition studies with Dr. John Paul, head of Marylhurst’s Music Department, Nithi is drawn to the unconventional.  He is currently working on a composition recital and in his head already beginning to plot a musical play he would like to write for children.

Eric Bleich played other instruments before he discovered his preferred instrument, the jazz guitar.  He also completed a BS in Psychology before he came to Marylhurst as a Music Therapy major — the perfect way to combine his two loves.  What makes Eric’s accomplishments in both fields even more amazing is that he is legally blind.  Eric was sighted until a degenerative disease started at age 16, and now ten years later he continues on his path with various aids, including a screen reading program on his computer, assistance by his wife who is also musically trained, and his own considerable skills to learn music by ear or to call upon his years of musical training to translate in his head.

Nothing is going to slow Eric down on his path to become a music therapist and work in the wide range of helping fields (with autism, hospice, memory care, etc.).  Eric graduates next spring but in the meantime he’s the guitarist for the MU jazz ensemble, and he works with a creative partner, Aaron Berenbach, an MU grad.  The two have a gig featuring rock, folk and punk at the McMenamin’s White Eagle at 8:30 pm on June 8.

Katie Koch comes from a musical family in La Center, Washington.  She was a singer from a very young age, could play instruments by ear, sang in church, even became a member of the church’s worship team.  But her family was also full of sociologists and psychologists, so her community college classes were aimed in that direction.  When a schedule problem prevented her from transferring over to WSU, Katie discovered she could get a double major in Music Therapy and Religion at Marylhurst.

Jazz, pop and gospel are Katie’s great loves in music, and she is a singer in the MU jazz ensemble, but in school she is also learning to stretch her range and styles.  In April she sang four classical pieces as a soloist in a National Association of Teachers & Singers competition.  She has a growing interest in electronic, quirky music, and is going to work on a creative music project this summer.  She knows that in addition to her work in therapy, she will also write music and lyrics, and eventually record as an artist. It is just a matter of putting together the equipment, financial resources, and a creative team, Katie says.

William Perry started to play the piano at age 9 because of a friend — and he thought it would be “cool” to do the same.  He chose to study classical music because it suited him intellectually and he was drawn to the work of Beethoven.  William was something of a child prodigy but he was in his teens before he decided to get serious about a classical career and sought out a mentor — Dr. Beverly Serra-Brooks who was both a teacher and a performance artist.  When Serra-Brooks moved to Oregon to teach at Marylhurst, William followed.

While he does not know exactly where his career is headed, William knows he wants to be a concert artist.  After Marylhurst, he will pursue a Master’s and a Ph.D. in piano, and Serra-Brooks (who studied at Juliard) is the perfect mentor to help him make career choices along the way.  Over the next few years his focus is a Bachelor’s from MU and various regional then national competitions to build skills and his musical resume.  He played in a Master’s Class with Italian pianist Giann Luca Luisi at MU in February.

This summer William, along with MU students Dania McKenzie and Allison Bote, will study Debussy and Ravel with British pianist Paul Roberts in a summer music festival in a castle in Southern France.  Serra-Brooks will accompany her students and will teach a workshop and master’s class.  Then William is headed home for the rest of the summer.  He will study with Serra-Brooks long distance for the remainder of the quarter and surf the warm Florida waters.