In this season of giving, Wrentham resident and King Philip High School alum Nick Beltramini has ‘giving back’ on his mind. Hoping to inspire students to play music during these times, Beltramini will participate in a series of alumni masterclasses put on by the high school. Students in Wrentham, Norfolk, Medfield, and Plainville Elementary Schools, King Philip and Medfield Middle Schools, and King Philip and Medfield High School will partake in the event.
Beltramini musical accomplishments are many. He leads Slightly Tooned, a 3-5 piece band rooted in jazz that explores jazz, funk, and RnB music. He has also performed and toured with some of the most prestigious high school bands in the country including the 2018 All-National Jazz Band, traveling to Florida to perform with the group. In high school, Nick earned the the highest music award, the Louis Armstrong Award, 3 of his 4 years. Now attending Oberlin Conservatory, Nick hopes to take his saxophone playing and musicianship to the next level.
“The music program has done so much for me, so it's the least I could do to give back. Forming a band was one of the best things I did in high school, and I would not have formed the band if not for the upperclassmen in the music program at the time,” says Beltramini.
Now he has the opportunity to inspire the next wave of music students during these challenging times. The masterclass will be held on Zoom and will consist of a performance, a discussion about how and why to form a band, and a Q and A section at the end. Being holiday-themed, Slightly Tooned has put their own unique spin on holiday classics which they will play during the performance section. Students from participating schools will get contacted by their band directors with info about the event and a zoom link.
It does not end there. After the masterclass, Slightly Tooned will be putting on a fundraiser live-stream concert to raise money and donate a portion of the proceeds to a local Covid relief fund for musicians. The livestream concert is scheduled for Monday, December 15, from 7 to 8 pm. For more information about Slightly Tooned and how to watch the live-streamed concert visit www.slightlytooned.com.