Class of 2028 jazz piano student Seraphina Taylor remembers when the music of pianist Thelonious Monk made its way to her Spotify “recommended-for-you” playlist. She was already listening to the likes of Bernard Wright and Don Blackman, but Monk was at another level. But when Taylor wanted to audition for a youth jazz program and sought her piano teacher’s help to prepare, the teacher had no interest in jazz instruction.
Despite this obstacle, performing and listen to jazz brings Taylor unparalleled joy. She described the feeling in her application essay to Mason Gross: “My head was buzzing, and my eyes welled with tears. It felt like my brain had burst into glitter.”
Read more about Seraphina and the Rutgers University Class of 2028 on Rutgers Today.
Image: Photo by Nick Romanenko for Rutgers Today