We've all heard stories of Oliver Stone hanging out at Alpha Delta fraternity or Spike Lee chilling at TriKap, but many people are not aware that most visitors have a wide range of interactions with the Dartmouth community. I spent last weekend with 27-year old vibraphonist Stefon Harris, who performed in Spaulding Auditorium Saturday night.
Friday, February 2
2 p.m. -- Stefon arrives in Hanover with his quartet. They drove five hours from New York City in a large rented van driven by Stefon's manager. Upon arrival, the band checks into their rooms at the Hanover Inn, which they affectionately call "the hotel."
3:45 p.m. -- Stefon walks over to the Hopkins Center to give a jazz improvisation masterclass to jazz students, members of the Barbary Coast and residents of the Upper Valley. The two-hour class is successful, as Stefon continually quizzes the audience to expand everyone's knowledge of the music. He stresses the importance of not using musical lingo because for him the best part of music is the emotion, not the technical side.
6 p.m. -- Stefon and the band meet up at the Hanover Inn and go for dinner at Molly's Restaurant, upon recommendation from the concierge.
8 p.m. -- Stefon and drummer Terreon Gully go over to Collis to play pool in the basement. While there they meet some African-American students who invite them to chill for the evening.
10 p.m. -- Stefon and Terreon go to Casque & Gauntlet with the students they met to watch the movie "Bait." After watching part of it, however, everyone decides that they'd rather play spades. The two musicians take opposing sides for an enjoyable and competitive series of hands. Throughout the evening they discuss music, the life of a musician, the Dartmouth experience and the off-campus experiences of the students.
2 a.m. -- Stefon heads to bed.
Saturday, February 3
9 a.m. -- Stefon wakes up but opts against having breakfast. He waits around for the rest of the band to get up before returning to the Hop to give a lecture and performance in Alumni Hall. He is featured in the Hop Stop series that was created specifically for children in the Upper Valley. It takes a fair amount of time to move the vibraphone and marimba into the space.
11 a.m. -- The Hop Stop begins with many excited children peering at the inner workings of the vibraphone. Much to his surprise, many children know the names of each instrument as well as how they work. One little girl made it quite clear that a piano is both a percussion and a string instrument and another boy knew that a snare drum actually has a little metal string on the bottom that gives it its distinct sound.
12 noon -- Once the children finish with the various instruments, Stefon goes with the band and the Spaulding tech crew to the Auditorium to decide how the stage will be laid out.
12:30 p.m. -- Stefon does an interview in the backstage dressing room with a local writer for an upcoming book.
1:15 p.m. -- Stefon meets up with the rest of the band in the Hanover Inn before leaving to find a place for lunch.
4 p.m. -- The band reconvenes in Spaulding for their soundcheck. Things go well at first but then problems arise with the bass sound, a problem for which Spaulding is notorious. Stefon runs back and forth from the front of the Auditorium to the back to monitor the sound and talk with the engineer.
5:30 p.m. -- Stefon relaxes in the Hopkins Center and has a conversation with a student he met earlier that day. He clearly feels at ease meeting people and relates in a very personal fashion that does nothing to reflect his status as a world famous musician.
6 p.m. -- Stefon returns to the Hanover Inn to focus and grab a bite to eat before the concert.
7:30 p.m. -- The band meets backstage and warms up. They never go out on stage with a setlist, preferring to leave everything open to improvisational inspiration.
8:05 p.m. -- Stefon and the other musicians take the stage in Spaulding to a receptive but not sold out crowd. He says few words before getting right into the music, which emphasizes musical dialogue between himself and the guest pianist Jacky Terrasson. On the whole the audience and musicians consider the concert very successful.
10:30 p.m. -- After signing autographs and talking to fans, Stefon and the other band members get ready to leave the Hop. He is excited to catch the tail end of the boxing title fight being shown on television in the Hanover Inn.
Instead of watching the fight, however, Stefon, Terreon and bassist Tarus Mateen decide to reunite with the students they met the night before. They spend the evening talking, playing pool in Collis and sharing their life experiences. Each of the musicians has traveled around the world and has unique stories to tell.
1 a.m. -- The musicians go to bed.
Sunday, February 4
10 a.m. -- The packed van pulls out of Hanover en route to their next tour stop at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. Such is the life of a musician.
