By Kiara Jones-Ford
Wanting to create or join a band can be intimidating. One has to know how to play an instrument, find fellow band members that work well with one another, and figure out the logistics of rehearing and performing. To help interested students settle into the groove of learning all of these metrics, Light Music Club is a new way for BC students to do all that.
Founded by president Adrien Kloskowski in the spring 2024 semester, the club functions as a safe space for students to learn and play music free of judgement. The concept follows Light Music Clubs from Tokyo, Japan where club-goers casually play music together, ranging from people who are entering the music business, to people who just play as a fun downtime activity.
Kloskowski spent the spring semester of 2023 studying abroad in Tokyo, Japan at Toya University, where she was first introduced to the concept of a Light Music Ensemble.
Kloskowski had performances in Toya University’s Light Music Ensemble, where she and her fellow club members played at the school, Japanese speakeasies, and other festivals that semester.
Upon returning home, Kloskowski felt inspired from all she had learned abroad. “The room was exactly as I left it before I left, but I was completely changed. So I was like, ‘what am I gonna do about this?’” she told The Vanguard. “And I thought about not just the club that I had participated in […] but also about the history of rock music in the United States and the legacies separated by either space or time, but not both. So I thought, ‘I want to start a light music club here.’”
Kloskowski was determined to start the club, playing guitar outside no matter the weather in order to inspire others to join. Her tenacity and grit to start one impressed the now club secretary and Brooklyn College senior Val Gerasenkov. “You know this club is serious if the person is outside, in the rain, holding an instrument that essentially represents a genre.”
While the Light Music Club at BC will focus on rock music, Light Music Ensembles can focus on almost any music genre. Most Light Music Club meetings are centered on improving their personal skills with their instruments. Some clubs, much like the one Kloskowski participated in, go on to perform in front of large audiences to show off their skills. Having a space for people to rock out as opposed to the more classical forms offered at the school was also an important reason for Kloskowski to start the club.
“I wanted to bring the rock ensemble back to Brooklyn College,” Kloskowski stated when asked what one of her biggest goals was. “There’s a lot of music here, and the music program’s great. [But] rock music doesn’t really have a lot of space here on campus, and I wanted to create that. It takes a long time to be good at something, but it takes a much shorter time to have fun with something, and that’s really what I want to do with the Light Music Club.”
The club currently has instruments such as drums, guitars, and piano, but students are welcome to bring their own instruments. Speakers and amps to plug in guitars and basses are also available. As for events, Kloskowski and Gerasenkov told The Vanguard that they are planning on hosting a campus show towards the end of the semester, in addition to inspire others to grow and have their own performances.
“We also want to try and create talent. Everyone has a seed that will grow as you practice more and more. In order to help that seed grow, we have you discover your niche, and discover your talent. That’s the one thing we’re hoping for from here,” Gerasenkov said., “Whether it be learning to play an instrument, learning to sing, or just getting into a genre. It’s going to take time to find a niche, but it’s one of those roads that guarantees success.”
The Light Music Club is located in room 121A/B in the Roosevelt Extension, and meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:15 to 2:25 p.m.. Interested students can follow them on Instagram: @bc.keion