Alameda Rockshop Internship Closing report

           For the graduation requirement of completing an internship, I decided to intern for Rich Tubiolo’s AEF Rockshop program. This program had nine middle school and one high school student. The goal of the 13-week program was to have these 10 kids learn and rehearse a considerably short list of songs, and have a concert at the end of the program. .

The 2.5 hour rehearsal sessions were often chaotic, as young musicians are not calm people. The specific skills I had to use were not necessarily skills. Patience was a large part of it, while the rest was mostly problem-solving. Whether it was one of the singers forgetting the words to a song or a musician being too crazy, it was my job to handle it. My other responsibility was taking the lead on moving instruments and equipment from Jake’s portable to the center and back, before and after each session.

          Dealing with people I don’t really know was never easy for me, dealing with kids I don’t know is even worse. Through the duration of the program, it became easier for me to handle any issues that came up. The only real obstacle I faced was being sick and missing the last rehearsal. My sickness was not as bad on the day of the concert, but being healthy would have made me more helpful.

          I knew that one of my responsibilities would be moving equipment, but I did not expect to be in a position that would make me partially responsible for the kids in the program.