At 33, Jake Desormo carries a musical legacy within his family. Growing up in Watertown, surrounded by the melodies of his father Scott and older brother Brent, it was almost inevitable that Jake would find his rhythm in music. It all began in church, where he first picked up the bass, setting the stage for his musical odyssey.

It’s no longer a secret that our March Artist Spotlight, Gretchen Koehler, is a talented fiddler AND violinist.

Gretchen grew up in Western Massachusetts. When she was in kindergarten, fliers for free violin lessons were passed around in class. She took the flier home to her mom who got her started with lessons that followed the Suzuki Method. Similar to talking before reading, the Suzuki Method teaches students to play before they read.

The performing arts community could not function without talented individuals who are literally “behind the scenes” running the technical aspects. Our first Artist Spotlight of 2024 does just that.

Michael Schanely, our February Artist Spotlight, is the Audio-Visual Technician at Watertown Central School District. Because his father was in the military, Mike was born in Germany where he lived for about two and a half years. While there, he reminisced about speaking a strange mix of English and Deutsch due to his English-speaking parents mixed with his German-speaking babysitter.