Music around College of Marin
Marco Berger
Issue date: 2/1/10 Section: Features
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Q. How did you get in to the arts?
A. I started as a dancer, later I decided to take up singing. Before attending COM, I was a professional jazz singer, dancer as well as film and stage actress. In 2004, after a year of voice rest after a vocal cord injury, I realized I wanted to make a significant change in my professional career. I chose to focus solely on music and, more specifically, to get a formal music education.
Q.What was your most recently completed project?
A. At COM, I have taken Linda Noble's voice classes for three years. The final for our class consists of performing a song based on a theme that Noble has chosen. At the most recent recital at the Tamalpais Retirement Community, I was singing Victor Herbert's "Art is Calling For Me," which was written in 1911. I researched the time period and decided to dress the part to get into character (see photo).
Q. How do you feel about the way it turned out?
A. I really enjoyed doing the Victor Herbert song. I had a good energy and I feel like it was very well received. The costume added a special touch. I worked well with Paul Smith, [who] accompanied on the piano, and I remembered all the lyrics.
Q. What are you working on now?
A. I'm preparing a classical piece and possibly one of the jazz originals for the first music department's recital. Also I will be singing blues and swing at the COM quad on selected Thursday afternoons in support of the Marin Alliance Music Association. Currently, as a lyricist and songwriter, I am collaborating with four jazz pianists and a guitarist. Most of the jazz lyrics I am writing I will eventually perform. I am developing one of these jazz originals as a gospel song to be performed in the gospel group I sing with, The Lighthouse Singers. I am also singing demos for the jazz and pop original works of a local record producer. Just for fun, I'm singing in a local 1960s band called The Flashbacks.
Q. What inspires you?
Hot jazz or any great melody to either sing or write lyrics for. Listening to stories that people talk; sometimes one thought or line can lead to a whole song. Watching others perform invigorates my motivation. A magnificent sunset, good food and wine.
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