By Matt Robinson
Contributing Writer
REGION – From the Berklee College of Music in Boston to Tanglewood in the Berkshires, Massachusetts is one of the most wide-ranging musical realms in the world.
Holding it down at both ends is a dynamic married couple, Berklee professor George Oldziey and singer/songwriter/producer/event operator Suzi Stern.
Child of musicians
Though she was raised by professional musicians, Stern says that she was not inclined to go into music as a child. In fact, as so many children do, she wanted to find her own path in life and eschew those taken by her parents.
“I didn’t even think going into a career in music made sense,” she explained, “because that’s what my parents did.”
Though music was not her first medium, Stern’s creative proclivities could not be denied, and she became a student of dance and visual art.
“I feel really fortunate that I was raised in a family that valued art,” she maintained, thanking her parents for giving into her “whims” to study “whatever my current passions were.”
“I was a lucky child!” she attested.
Starting out in New York, Stern eventually found her way to Texas, where the long-latent music bug finally struck.
“I heard an incredible band playing contemporary jazz at Symphony Square,” Stern recalled, “and I knew that was my future!’
After years of diligent study and connecting with such Jazz legends as Joe Henderson, Joshua Redman, and Denny Zeitlin, Stern began to write lyrics for other artists and then to spread her own musical wings as a performer.
A trumpeter from an early age
Another local legend that she met in Austin was Oldziey.
“I hired George to play in some of my ensembles in the early ’80s,” Stern explained. “So we had a long-standing working relationship and a solid friendship for many years before we got married.”
Though he studied trumpet at the Manhattan School of Music, Oldziey also went through a few instrumental changes in his earlier days.
“I first got into music …at the age of eight…when I was given the option of playing the accordion,” he recalled, “which I did not really care for.”
Fortunately, he would find his preferred means of expression soon thereafter.
“At the age of ten,” he continued, “I picked up a trumpet [and] fell in love with it…. I never really thought about doing anything else!”
After graduating from the Manhattan School of Music, Oldziey also studied piano and garnered a master’s degree in composition. In addition to working with famed film director Robert Rodriguez, Oldziey has also scored documentaries for the Discovery and History channels and some of the most popular video game titles around as a member of the talented team at Electronic Arts.
Like Stern, says he was first intrigued by his family’s tastes in music.
“My initial inspirations came from listening to my father’s record collection,” he explains, citing such diverse genres as big band, jazz, classical, and the “popular music” of the day.
As a trumpeter, Oldziey was enthralled by such legends as Herb Alpert, Rafael Méndez, Maynard Ferguson, and Doc Severinsen. Compositionally, he leaned toward the likes of Béla Bartók, Richard Strauss, and other late Romantic and early twentieth-century masters.
Among his favorite contemporary artists is his long-time partner (professionally and personally) Stern.
A fortunate meeting
“I moved to Austin, from New York City in 1980, and met Suzi a few years later,” Oldziey recalls when asked about how they first met. “I had started playing piano by that point, and Suzi hired me to play with her…from time to time. We stayed in touch and remained friends. Later…we fell in love. We are still together after eighteen years of marriage!”
When asked what (in addition to her musical talent) drew him to Stern, Oldziey said, “I have always admired Suzi’s gifts as both a vocalist and a vocal instructor, but it was her humanity, empathy, and sense of humor that were, of course, the driving factors.”
In 2016, the couple moved to Pasadena, California, where Stern became a sought-after vocal coach and Oldziey a composer. When he was hired by Berklee to teach film scoring, they moved to Massachusetts and have been crisscrossing the Bay State for gigs and projects ever since.
Among the most impactful projects the couple has collaborated on is one that Stern had worked on with another performance partner in New York.
Women-led musical festival
“LuluFest was created by my friend and colleague Peggy Stern about 20 years ago in Kingston, New York,” Stern said of the women-led musical festival (https://lulu-fest.com/). She was granted permission to bring it to the Berkshires and it will take place on September 19 at its new home at the Meeting House in Lenox.
Though he admits that he had little to do with bringing the festival to Massachusetts, Oldziey has contributed as a performer and a mover.
“George and I donated a beautiful concert grand piano to the space,” Stern said, citing such scheduled stars as jazz violinist Sara Caswell, trumpeter Sumer Camargo, Mary Ann McSweeney and her Urban Fado band, and pianist Dena DeRose, who is flying in from Austria to participate.
“Peggy Stern will be playing with her ensemble,” Stern added, “and I will be leading my quintet, so it’s a beautiful lineup.”
When asked what keeps her in the musical game and what she hopes to bring to her latest home with her talent and her tenacity, Stern replied, “I hope that we can make a difference in the jazz scene in the Berkshires and shine a light on women as leaders in an historically male-dominated field. I believe that’s finally changing, and that’s exciting!”
Mutual support and appreciation
Though LuLuFest focuses on female performers, Oldziey is glad and grateful that he still gets to perform with and support his musical life partner.
“It has been quite wonderful being part of a creative couple,” he assessed. “Even though we sometimes move in very different creative directions, we also have many areas where our creative lives overlap, whether that means Suzi working with my Latin band or me playing piano and arranging some of her music for her.”
“Having a partner that understands me musically is a blessing,” Stern agreed. “I feel like we push each other in the best ways possible. We both know for a fact that this is a very special and wonderful connection that we share!”
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