A couple months ago, Tiana Dick didn’t think she would ever attend one of North America’s most prestigious music schools.
At the time, the Wellington Secondary School senior jazz student was considering other post-secondary institutions, such as Montreal’s McGill University, but not the internationally renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston.
But, Berklee is exactly where the bassist will be heading this fall.
“I still haven’t really grasped reality right now,” Dick said.
Dick, who plays upright bass and sings, is the oldest member of the Dick-Olynyk Trio, which includes her younger brother Kenton and Ethan Olynyk.
“I’ve always felt like the weak link of the trio because I did start playing late ... I’ve only been playing bass for about four years.”
On Friday (June 19), the Dick-Olynyk Trio will be holding a fundraising concert at the Buzz Coffee House.
The fundraiser is to help send the Dicks and Olynyk to Berklee. Although Dick will be attending full-time in the fall, Kenton and Olynyk will be attending the school’s summer jazz workshop.
The Dick-Olynyk Trio was formed a couple of years ago and has been garnering all kinds of awards and recognition under Wellington band director Carmella Luvisotto.
“Carmella has really directed us especially because we had no idea what to start out with in terms of material and she knew our level right away,” Dick said. “She gave us hard stuff and we managed to pull through in festivals because of those charts.”
It was at one of those festivals where Dick caught the eye of recruiters for Berklee. During the festival, she was asked by a recruiter why she hadn’t applied.
“I thought ‘there is no way I am good enough for Berklee,’” Dick said.
That’s when Dick was asked to audition on the spot.
“I only had 10 minutes to decide what I wanted to do for my audition,” Dick said “They auditioned me in air training theory and everything they would have normally done at a Berklee audition.”
Despite the short time frame, Dick earned herself a $30,000 scholarship to the Boston music school.
“I think a lot of people really desire what I have right now and the opportunities that I have, but it still hasn’t really clicked.”
With Dick leaving in the fall, the future of trio is unclear.
“I don’t want to stop playing with my brother and Ethan,” Dick said. “I would really love to stick with them. I don’t know if we will go separate ways or not.”
Dick believes that even if the trio splits up, it will eventually reunite.
“I think further down the road we will end up playing together,” she said.
Dick, who played violin before switching to bass, credits Luvisotto and the Wellington jazz program.
“Throughout the four, five years I’ve been here I have learned so much,” Dick said. “It is crazy.”
The Dick-Olynyk Trio perform Friday at 7 p.m. For more information, visit www.bit.ly/1IDUAQR.
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