High school achievers hear a few notes on life

I like to talk more than actually play music,” jazz guitarist Rob Levit told his audience at Annapolis High School on Thursday morning.

About 450 students – roughly one-quarter of the school’s population – was being treated to a performance by Levit and his jazz trio, featuring bassist Amy Shook and drummer Frank Russo, as a reward for making honor roll the previous semester.

Levit, who has appeared at the Montreal Jazz Festival, the Kennedy Center in Washington and many other top venues, is an artist-in-residence at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts.

In addition to playing music, he spoke to the students on the topic of “Five Things I Wish I Knew When I Was Your Age.” He used an overhead projector to illustrate his points.

Principal Donald Lilley explained that the school tries to reward students who do well, though the incentives are not always as elaborate as Thursday’s concert.

“We try to give them some kind of entertainment to let them know that we appreciate the hard work they’re doing,” he said.

“We’ve always given them a doughnut-and-juice type of thing,” said Judy Wheatley, a biology teacher at Annapolis. “This time, we thought it would be a great treat and maybe encourage more kids to do well if we did something different, something special.”

The trio performed several original compositions, as well as a jazz rendition of the Beatles song “Norwegian Wood.” Between numbers, Levit roamed the auditorium, speaking to students. Since he had just turned 40, he said, he felt he had learned some things over the years that he wanted to share. Every piece of advice came with a story.

His first piece of advice: “Thank your mentors.” Levit told of an English teacher he had had in eighth grade. One day, when Levit was in his 20s, “I woke up like a thunderbolt and it hit me,” he said. So much of his way of looking at the world was a direct result of that teacher, he said.

Second piece of advice: “The things you do right now are going to have an effect.” Levit said one day he opened the newspaper and saw an obituary for a baby. He couldn’t get the child out of his head. “This child, Christopher, who passed away in June 2004, was having an impact on my life,” he said. He wound up writing a song about Christopher, and contacting the child’s family. The parents and Levit became friends.

“The life of this little boy lives on through me,” he told the students.

Third: “Words can change you in an instant.” Levit then told of a professor at the New England Conservatory of Music, who “said something to me that changed my life right on the spot.”

The professor hadn’t heard Levit play, but declared that he was an artist, simply because he was attending the music school. “He gave me confidence to bring my music to the next level,” he said.

Levit’s fourth piece of advice: “Self-development isn’t about you.” Levit said he had worked hard to hone his craft, but he only realized how important it was after he gave a benefit concert for a friend who had died.

“I should have started sooner making sure everything I did was serving other people,” he said.

“Who here is talented?” he asked the audience. “You’re all supposed to raise your hands,” he said, as students whispered and laughed and then complied. Make sure you serve others, he told them.

And finally, Levit delivered this word of advice: “Relationships are the only true measure of success.” Using an overhead projector, Levit showed a picture of three women, saying he had taken the picture only days earlier at a local bookstore.

“When I was in fourth grade, I had a crush on that girl on the left,” he said. “She didn’t have a crush on me.” But when he ran into her 30 years later, he made the effort to rekindle the relationship.

“I measure my success by the number of relationships,” he said. “Not just the number, but the quality of the relationships.”

Jessica Walsh, 17, said she’s attended many such assemblies because she always makes honor roll, she said. But Thursday’s was one of her favorites. “It was interesting, very insightful,” she said as the hourlong assembly ended.

She particularly liked Levit’s story about little Christopher. “It’s kind of interesting, what can inspire you,” she said.