QUINN SPOOK
Special to The Leader
In Mason Hall as the week is coming to a close, a cover of Jimmy Eat World’s “It Just Takes Some Time” fills the empty corridors. The familiar tune as well as laughter spills out of room 2018. The overhead lights are replaced with golden hour sunlight that shines onto multiple instruments and music bags strewn about the tables.
Nomads are finishing up their latest rehearsal and doing so with a vibrant sense of comradery and encouragement. Nomads are a recently formed band composed of SUNY Fredonia faculty.
Amber Nellett, from Buffalo, is a masters of music education graduate student. Nellett is the music education graduate assistant that is responsible for facilitating the band for the newly offered course, MUED 160: Vernacular Musicianship.
Nellett has been making music for 16 years and has multiple roles in the band. “We all kind of trade instruments. Some songs, I play the guitar, some I play bass and others I will sing,” Nellet said.
Dr. Jill Reese, from Fredonia, is an associate professor of music education. Reese is the instructor for Nellett’s Vernacular Musicianship class. “I was awarded a Modern Band Higher Education Fellowship through Little Kids Rock, a nonprofit organization that supports music education. As part of that fellowship, I attended a week-long course during summer 2021 about how to incorporate modern band pedagogy into music education curriculum for preservice music teachers.”
Much like the other members, Reese is flexible in the band and said, “Everybody plays everything!” Reese has been “making music since [she] was born and probably even before that.”
She is an early childhood music researcher and shared an interesting fact that researchers suggest we are making music as soon as our earbuds have been fully formed and we can respond to the music we hear outside the womb.
Jenn Darrell-Sterbak, from Fredonia, is community relations associate for the School of Music. Darrell-Sterbak plays bass and electric violin for the band and has been playing violin her whole life.
Pat Cummings-Witter, from Lockport, is a library clerk and works in the archives section of Reed Library. Cummings-Witter plays bass, percussion and sings. She has been making music her whole life and has been learning and experimenting with new instruments since joining Nomads, along with the rest of the band.
Kathleen Fenton, from Rochester, is an adjunct lecturer in the visual arts and new media (VANM) department. Fenton plays the electric ukulele. She is new to music and has been playing for 10 weeks now, since Nomads originally formed.
Katelynn Telford, from Fredonia, is the digital services librarian at Reed Library. Telford mostly drums for the band, but plays the keyboard as well. She has been making music for around 10 years now and got her bachelors and masters at Fredonia’s School of Music.
Dr. Juan De Urda, originally from Spain, is a Spanish professor. He plays both guitar and bass guitar for Nomads. De Urda is new to making music and started playing when the band formed.
Dr. Andy Karafa, originally from Coopersville, Mich., is the Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Dr. Karafa plays bass, drums and also sings for the band. Karafa has been making music “since [he] played the recorder in third grade.”
In a discussion with the band as a whole, they were eager to share their experience together so far as well as their future plans for Nomads.
When asked how they came up with the name the room was filled with giggles and laughter. “Did you see us just pack up everything in five minutes and move it?” They explain that they practice all over in different locations and sometimes they even get kicked out of a room if a class is coming in.
A nomad is defined as “a person with no settled home, moving from place to place as a way of obtaining necessities or otherwise making a living.” Thus, the band thought it was a very fitting name.
Nomads said if they had to describe their sound in three words it would be “approximation, not perfection.”
When asked if they would continue the band next semester Nomads answered with, “There has been some talk of practicing over the summer.” Multiple members said they would be interested in continuing in the fall.
The band’s message they are trying to spread is “anyone can make and play music.” Fenton added that “[Nellett] and [Reese] have made this very accessible for those of us new to music.”
If you would like to catch some good vibes and see Nomads perform live, they will be playing their upcoming show May 18 from 4 to 6 p.m. in the campus Tim Hortons lounge. “Our farewell love letter to Tim Hortons,” they joked.
If you are interested in joining Nomads, reach out to Dr. Jill Reese at Jill.Reese@fredonia.edu.