Clinton Township Newsletter

2 4 s e p t e m b e r 2 0 2 3 W W W . C L I N T O N T W P N E W S L E T T E R . C O M Do you hear the new rockin' sound in town? C3Q followed the buzz to 46 Old Highway 22, where the brand new Clinton Music Studios opened this past May, to speak to owner Matt Migliorino. C3Q: Hello, Matt, and thanks for helping my son re-string his guitar after a sudden snap! This is a fantastic place you have here, can you tell us about your facility and yourself? MM: Clinton Music Studios just opened at the end of May 2023, and things are going great! We're so happy to be here in Clinton. I grew up not far from here in Alexandria Township, so Clinton has always been the place that you go to for everything. Moving back here after college, I saw that there wasn't a lot of variety available in terms of music lessons. People were driving 20-30 minutes to lessons, so I saw that Clinton as an area could really benefit from something like this, especially as such an artsy and unique town. I started playing music when I was about ten years old, and I saw Green Day on TV and begged my mom for a guitar. I took lessons for a number of years and then got into bands as a teenager and decided that this is what I wanted t o p u r s u e . I w e n t t o Berklee College of Music for Audio Engineering, and since then, I've been working for studios and schools, and teaching private and group lessons, in between making records and doing all sorts of audio work. I am excited to do my own thing and to continue to teach and record music. It's a big deal to teach recording to kids as well. I would have killed for a program like this in audio recording as a teenager; it is a great opportunity to learn more about that side of music. Music Production is one of our offerings and we had Music Production during our Summer Camp as well. At Clinton Music Studios, we currently have six teachers, all with amazing background experience. One of our instructors, J e n s e n , i s f r o m L o n d o n , a n d he's had a huge career in pop, m u s i c a l t h e a t r e , a n d B r o a d w a y ; he's toured around t h e w o r l d . O u r d r u m i n s t r u c t o r , Simon, is one of my best friends from c h i l d h o o d . A l l o f the instructors are people that I've been close with for a long time and that I've met working over the years. We offer lessons in drum, guitar, base, piano, violin, voice, and ukulele. We teach all ages, all abilities, and whatever type of music... it's not only classical or rock n' roll, we leave that open to the students. They tell us what music they enjoy, and the instructors create a learning plan to give them things that are fun and that they are interested in. We are open to anything and everything. The whole idea behind what I'm doing here is to make a more inclusive music school that teaches more than what your average studio would teach. Beyond all of our lessons and programs, there is also a full professional studio for artists to use. I want this to be a creative place in Clinton, for artsy people to know that they can come here and be creative with music, and to connect with other musicians in the community. C3Q: What is coming up for Clinton Music Studios? MM: Now that we're wrapping up our summer camp, our next big thing is starting our Band Program. It's a chance for kids to get together in a small group and rehearse once a week for two hours led by a musical director, learning to play with others as a band, instead of only as individuals. The goal is to get them interacting with other students in a band, and then get them out into the community and playing shows for some real experience. We played in the Clinton 'Come Together' Music Festival this summer, and are looking forward to being part of the Clinton Town Picnic in September. We have many in-person and online private music lesson offerings for the fall. C 3 Q : W h a t i s t h e b e s t c o n c e r t t h a t you've ever been to? What is your favorite instrument? What is the most rewarding or best experience that you've had in your life? MM: I grew up on my parents' classic rock, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin... Santana was my fave guitarist and played one of the best shows I've ever been to, but I've been to so many that it's hard to choose! Santana was the most meaningful and memorable for me. Guitar is my favorite instrument personally. The reason that I fell in love with guitar as a kid was because it allowed me to play the music that I *wanted* to play. (My first instrument was a clarinet, which doesn't really allow you to play rock n' roll!) Guitar allowed me to play what I was interested in and I was excited to play what I wanted, when I wanted. One of the most rewarding parts about teaching music is watching kids do a performance or recital at the end, and seeing them go from wherever they started to wherever they are at...the feeling of accomplishment, growing and learning, is so fulfilling, along with watching the kids take off and hopefully walk in our shoes. Ultimately, I think one of the hardest but most rewarding things is the dedication that you give to learning music. I always tell the kids, just like anything in life, you have to work hard to become the best at something. It takes a lot of work, just like becoming the best basketball or football player. You get out what you put in. If you are driven to work hard and are really into it, the sky is the limit and you will just take off. C3Q: Thank you so much Matt, and we are excited to have Clinton Music Studios in our community! n Rachel Sprague, a resident of Clinton Township, has a degree in journalism from Rutgers. With her husband Russell, Rachel is raising two young children in the Clinton Township School District. She thinks that Clinton Township is a delightful place to live. Welcome to with Rachel Sprague * C linton ree Questions *

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