On Oct. 12, the Syracuse University chapter of the National Music Teachers Association will be holding Rocktober, a concert organized with the aim of raising money for local Syracuse public school music programs. The show will consist of three performers: Florist, Dr Danny and Lauren Goodyear and it will take place from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Setnor Auditorium. The price of admission is free but donations are encouraged. 

Rocktober will be the first of many MTNA-organized concerts centered around raising money for Syracuse schools, said Michael Fernandes, head of the MTNA chapter at SU. He added that they decided to make the concert free because they still wanted to hold to their primary mission: to increase music exposure by introducing SU students to new artists.

“We love to bring artists from all around the U.S. to play at SU. We were looking for an opportunity to do some good in the greater community in the Syracuse area,” Fernandes said. 

Syracuse city schools are now in a crucial period where they are trying to build an orchestra, making Rocktober’s timing perfect, said Ross Chua, head of events coordination at the MTNA. 

Rocktober performer Dr Danny, a rock artist from Long Island, New York, said he has gained a significant number of fans in Syracuse and he looks forward to coming to play because he appreciates how much the city likes his music. 

Dr Danny has been a member of many rock bands including The Lemon Twigs and he is now a member of Sunflower Bean, another New York City band. He is also working on solo projects. 

“I have a love for doing music in any capacity but it definitely helps that I’m able to support local schools,” Dr Danny said when asked why he was coming back to perform at SU. 

The artist plans to play all the songs off his 2017 EP, “Lay It On Me Straight,” including his hit song, “Fly Me Back In Time,” which has 162,000 streams on Spotify alone. 

SU student and MTNA member, Lauren Goodyear, will also perform at Rocktober. Goodyear said she is yet to pinpoint her exact genre, but she places herself in the “pop-ballad category.”

The 20-year-old artist said she was honored to be the only act from SU performing in Rocktober. 

“I’m planning on performing two covers and four original songs,” Goodyear said in an e-mail, “It’s a half-hour set, and me and my band are so excited to jam.”

While this is the organization’s first Rocktober, it plans to make the concert an annual event, Goodyear said.

Artist like Florist and Dr Danny are usually receptive to doing these types of shows, so long as the calendars align, Fernandes said. However, for this particular event, the MTNA SU chapter was not too concerned with who they brought to the stage, Chua admitted; instead, they were more concentrated on helping out Syracuse schools. 

There are only a few education members in the MTNA SU chapter: it mainly consists of composition majors from the Setnor School of Music and some public relation majors from S.I. Newhouse School Of Public Communications, said Chua.

Chua, who had the inception of Rocktober with the mission to fundraise for Syracuse schools, said he was excited to be part of a culture that does not solely host events for entertainment, but also that serves the greater community, even if by making a small impact. 

“Don’t think you can’t make a difference because even the smallest little step can make a difference,” Chua said.

Published on October 11, 2019 at 10:13 pm