Brody, a sixth grader at Roosevelt School in Weehawken, is an accomplished musician, having played piano and guitar since he was 5 years old. When you ask Brody who his favorite musicians are, the answer might startle you. It's not Britney or Outkast or anyone you might find on the Billboard pop charts these days.
"I especially like the Beatles," Brody said. "It all started when we went on a car trip through Ohio. It was a very long trip and my mom put in a CD. It was Beatles One. We started singing along with the songs and I got hooked. Now, I have most of their CDs."
He added, "I just love their music. It's so different than today's music. I don't like rap or R&B. No one my age likes listening to old time rock-and-roll. I think it's pretty cool."
Brody loves the Beatles so much that he decided to perform the Beatles' classic "Eleanor Rigby," during the annual spring concert at Roosevelt School last week.
The talented Brody performed two solos, one on guitar and one on piano, as part of the concerts, which were performed for the parents and teachers on Monday night, then for the entire student body on Wednesday.
"Wednesday, my voice was shaking a little, because I was a little nervous," Brody said. "I don't know if anyone heard it."
It wasn't apparent, because everyone in attendance was floored by Brody's brilliance.
"He's really very amazing," said Piero Romano, the district's music teacher and the coordinator for the concert, which featured third and fourth graders playing the recorder, fifth and sixth graders playing guitar, plus a vocal chorus as well. "Perry is a gifted musician. Everyone is impressed by him."
Brody, whose late father, Don, was a folk singer in his heyday, wasn't the lone talented student to perform in the 10th annual spring concert.
"We have a lot of talented kids in the school," Romano said. "They're all getting exposure to music at an earlier age and becoming interested in music at earlier ages. I think Weehawken has a lot of talented kids who want to learn. They're taking guitar and piano lessons on their own."
Another talented performer is 11-year-old fifth grader Heather Banchise, who played the guitar and sang as well.
"It's a good chance to show what I can do," Banchise said. "I take dance lessons as well, so I've been on the stage a lot. I hope what I'm doing now can take me to a good career."
Banchise said that there was a lot of dedication to perform in the spring concert.
"I had to get up at 6:30 in the morning to get to school by 7:30 for practice," Banchise said. "We did that four days a week. We did a lot of work, but we were prepared."
Banchise said that she was also introduced to music, especially the guitar, at an early age, because her father and brother both played guitar.
"I took some lessons and I knew some things," Banchise said. Nine-year-old Steven Rodriguez was also introduced to music as a youngster.
"When I was in first grade, I got to practice the recorder with my brother," said Rodriguez, a third grader. "So I was ready when it came time to play this year. I had a lot of fun. It was a lot of hard work, because we had to come every day for practice. But it paid off, especially playing in front of the whole school. I was a little nervous if I messed up a note, then the fourth graders would have been so far ahead of me and I wouldn't be able to catch up. The fourth graders are so fast."
Rodriguez said that he enjoys music so much that he received a keyboard for Christmas.
"My dad told me that I can take lessons," Rodriguez said. "Music is in my blood now."
"It's the best concert we had in 10 years," Romano said. "We got the whole school to participate in songs like 'This Land is Your Land,' and 'God Bless America.' Everything went so well."
Brody's talents continue to astound.
"I'm still taking piano lessons, but I hope to form a band of my own in the next few years," Brody said. "I bet my dad would probably be very proud. I just like hearing the people applaud and see their reactions when I play. I hope people liked it."
And they did. Lennon and McCartney would be proud.
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