Summit Studios: A Place for Students and Musicians to Thrive

Ever want to be in a rock band? Not the video game Rock Band, but a real rock band. If so, learning how to rock is just one of the many musical experiences available to students at .

Since its opening nearly a decade ago, Summit Studios has become a place where students of all ages can study voice and musical instruments. Over the years, former Summit students have moved on to careers in music, and some have returned to teach.

Dan Fortin, a professional rock band guitarist, teaches teens to play in a rock band in a Saturday morning class at Summit. “It's a class designed to bring teens together for a few months to practice and learn songs and play a gig at the end,'' Forin said.

The members of the band don't have to know each other, but the class teaches them how to work together in preparation for their gig, just as a real band would.

“Each kid puts in what they like and know how to play, and they all learn to fit each other styles,'' Fortin explained. The Saturday morning class includes Mike Lynch, Chris Morelli, Micaela Cain, Annie Dunne, Greg Perez and Billy Gillen.

The band will appear at June 26 at 1 p.m. for a show that will include several other bands from the area. Fortin, a rock guitarist, is a member of the Brian Jarvis Band.

“You don't see many music instruction studios that offer something like this,'' said Fortin, who like many Summit instructors is both a teacher and a working musician. “Its nice to be able to do what I love, and pass on what I have learned to teens who are also excited and passionate about the music.''

Students interested in other musical styles will also have a chance to perform this summer. There is a jazz ensemble workshop led by musician Jeff Taylor, and a “Glee'' style group for teens that will sing and perform choreography. Summit has an upcoming recital featuring vocal and instrumental students June 24 and 25 at Manchester Community College.

Anthony DeDominicis is directing a summer youth choir at Summit that will perform musical theater show tunes this summer. DeDominicis came to Summit as a high school student and returned five years ago as a teacher. “Mom and dad gave me six months of voice lessons for Christmas one year while I was a student at Manchester High School,'' said DeDominicis, who went to college as a music major.

“I think music is important to spiritual and emotional growth, and its one of the things being phased out in public schools,'' he said. “I think its one of the finest gifts a parent can offer their child.''

Carolyn Fisher, who teaches voice and piano at Summit, is a graduate of Boston Conservatory and also a former Summit student, who studied with Donna Schaffer, who founded Summit Studios with Tom Deffenbaugh. Fisher is assistant musical director for CAST Children's Theater in Manchester.

“One of the great things about teaching here is that not only do you get to work with different types of students, but as a teacher, we get to participate in each others projects.,'' Fisher said. “It's a real resource in the community for people who are working toward a professional career.''

Summit Studios, located on Main Street, was created out of an old strip mall that once included a laundromat and a machine shop, Deffenbaugh said, recalling the task of knocking down walls and laying sheet rook after the old washing machines were removed.

“There were all kinds of crazy hurdles, but we just jumped in,'' he said. At the time, Schaffer was teaching classes out of their home on Summit Street. “We wanted to provide a place where students could get high quality musical instruction.''

Deffenbaugh is also a musician, and performs with the band “Stealing Jupiter,'' while also managing Summit. Music “helps students with self-confidence and so many other things that can go beyond music,'' he said. “It's not just music education, its life education, that you can use for the rest of your life.''