A musician since the fourth grade, Connor Norris ’21 says his love for music started with his dad.
“My dad knows a lot about music history,” said Connor. “He turned me on to most of what I know. One of my first memories is having the song ‘Into the Hollow’ by Queens of the Stone Age in my head, which is one of his favorite songs.”
“I have gotten closer with my dad through our love of music and music history,” said Connor. “We even took a blues road trip once, starting in Clarksdale, Mississippi, going through Oxford, and into Memphis, Tennessee. I’ve connected much more with him through our shared interest in music. Now that I have grown into my own interests and tastes, I give him recommendations on music or history I have learned.”
Connor joined the band as a fourth grade student on the clarinet.
“I wasn’t that interested in playing at the time,” said Connor, “but I stuck with it until Middle School. In seventh grade, I moved to the saxophone which I still play in the Jazz Band.”
However, Connor’s favorite instrument is the guitar, which he started teaching himself in eighth grade.
“I had been playing travel basketball since fifth grade, and then something changed and I decided to quit,” he said. “My step-brother had just started playing the guitar and I thought it was cool, so I started teaching myself to play by watching videos on YouTube.”
“Guitar is my favorite instrument. I get home, pick it up, and two hours later I realize I have to start my homework. I love listening to music and that’s what got me into playing it. When you catch on to a new song it’s exciting,” explained Connor.
Connor’s passion has shaped a path for him to explore other things related to music and music education.
“Last year, I spearheaded this project, the Jazz Rock Group,” said Connor. “It’s a small group of students from the Jazz Band who play more contemporary instruments. We had a singer, guitarist, and bassist. I led it last year, and played the guitar and bass in it.”
His enthusiasm isn’t limited to playing and creating; Connor also started a music blog, The Norris Report.
“There was a band I really liked coming to Fort Lauderdale,” said Connor. “I reached out to their publicist and asked for an interview with the band before the show. I just wanted to get closer to the music and the band. He turned me down, but gave me a photographer’s pass. I got really great pictures, which is what sparked the blog. I wrote an article to complement the pictures and when concert season slowed down, I started writing more editorial pieces. Once I had a few reviews and articles, I took a step back and looked at the website and took it back to square one. I started emailing musicians I thought were interesting and requesting interviews. I would send out a lot of requests and get maybe only a few yeses here and there, but that’s how it started. Lately, I’ve started playing more of my original music, so I have paused the blog for now.”
Recently, Connor and his best friend, Luke Fatovic ’21, started a band together called Burd Party. Aside from playing the guitar and singing for the duo, he continues to expand in his love for music by exploring songwriting.
“I really enjoy English literature and poetry,” said Connor, “so writing lyrics for songs has been exciting for me. I was curious about the process of songwriting because I had not written my own songs before. As a result, I learned to love literature and poetry even more since that is really where music and lyrics came from.”
While the COVID-19 global pandemic prevented the arts from running as they typically would, it presented Connor and Luke with a unique opportunity. With the help of Mr. Larry Mellone, Pine Crest’s Fine Arts Director, and Mr. Eric King, Pine Crest’s Audiovisual Technician, the two were able to borrow recording equipment and set it up in Connor’s home.
“Mr. Mellone had always asked if we ever wanted to record our music,” said Connor. “With COVID restrictions, he let us take equipment home so we could record our music since we could not use the studio at school. Mr. King was also so helpful; he helped us connect and set up everything while instructing us over the phone. It was a great learning process and I am really happy with what we recorded.”
Connor feels strongly about the opportunity created by the situation.
“I’d say the creation of our album — which no one really knew we were doing — has been one of my favorite Upper School experiences,” he said.
Burd Party can be listened to on streaming services such as YouTube, Spotify, and Amazon Music, among others.
As is typical for so many dynamic Pine Crest students, Connor did not limit himself to being a musician during his time in Pine Crest Upper School. He and Luke became good friends when the two started running cross country and track together.
“I started running cross country and track in Middle School,” said Connor. “I am a distance runner for track, and run the 5K in cross country. It’s a great community that I have loved being a part of. It’s been a great constant for me and taught me discipline.”
Connor goes on to describe why cross country and track offer lessons different from those you may find in other avenues.
“You really learn a lot about yourself through running, and Coach Baur has been a great figure in my life,” he said. “Unlike team sports, once you are on the start line, you are on your own. It’s not like other sports where you get pulled out or benched if you mess up — you just have to keep going.”
He continues in his explanation. “For people who don’t run, it can seem miserable, but there is a point that you reach once you have been running long enough where you can just go,” said Connor. “Until you get there, it’s hard to know what it feels like. There were many Saturdays that I didn’t want to wake up for a 7:00 a.m. run, but I learned to push and it has been a great part of my Upper School experience.”
Next fall, Connor will be at Dartmouth University as an English major, looking forward to studying English and creative writing.
“I am excited for the change of scenery,” said Connor. “A new place full of cool, smart, and creative people. That is what I am most excited about for college — meeting new people in a new environment. Pine Crest is a phenomenal place where I’ve already met interesting, intelligent people, and meeting more of those kinds of folks in college is an attractive prospect.”
Connor will continue to play and write music and has already made connections at Dartmouth with some fellow musicians. He also plans on picking up The Norris Report again.
“The blog is a great way to reach out to people,” he said. “It establishes some form of experience and credibility as opposed to just reaching out because you’re interested. It is a cool way to continue what I like to do.”
