A Cohort of Three - Christopher Lee
June 1st was also the day Chris Lee walked in the door. He was a polished young musician who played the bass, guitar, and piano.
This was the time I really took notice of Luis' substance. He went right up to Christopher, shook his hand, and welcomed him to Inception.
The mix of Chris, Luis, and Jayleen improvising was something new and special. In one session, infused with new musicianship, Luis and Jay raised their game (where it would stay), because they had an accomplished young talent joining them on the journey.
I first had met Chris when we was twelve or thirteen. He was now fifteen.
I worked with his mom, Lori, at the structural engineering firm Walter P. Moore. Lori and I got to know each other in the office. She would frequently hear about me planning Inception, and she would casually mention her son who was into music.
We were a couple months in to delivery, and I happened to ask Lori, "Where is your son?"
I told Lori more about how the program had developed since all the powerpoints she had seen on my computer when I was supposed to be working for WPM. She consulted her husband, Yong, and Christopher, and in Chris came.
When we look backward (now from 2024), we have had some great success stories with some of our young composers.
Chris was going to Harvard Westlake a prestigious high school for boys in Los Angeles, and brought in his definitive ideas about jazz. (He wouldn't be the first one.)
My staff and I coach composers to do something different, make pieces go somewhere. But frequently at the beginning, it's an ostinato (repetition) that goes on for three or four minutes.
Chris stayed with Inception until he graduated high school. His music evolved. He became an example and leader for other students.
When he started with us, he was conflicted between going into art or music. (He's a brilliant painter.). When he left, he went on to Berklee School of Music in composition. I call that a win.
But more profoundly, as Chris developed his writing, our mentors, like Adrienne Albert and Maria Newman told him his music had a completely original voice.
Can't get much better than that.
As we built this program, it took parents like Yong and Lori, and composers like Christopher, to take a risk and put faith in us. Would we do it better now? Of course, we've evolved. But since I was his primary mentor, I couldn't be more proud to play a tiny part in what I am sure will be a long, successful composition journey.
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