Sophomore Amin Ebrahimi recently started the Songwriters’ Club at Mesa. His goal was to fill in the pieces missing in college music departments for students who wish to write and perform their own songs.

“The Songwriters’ Club didn’t exist at Mesa or any other college,” Ebrahimi said. “I saw a lot of talents, and that inspired me to start my club.”

Ebrahimi takes pride in helping students flourish in their musical talents and apply them in a positive way. A concert at the end of last spring marked the club’s first campus event. This semester, the group has kicked into full swing with weekly meetings, scheduling of songwriting workshops, and a concert held last Thursday at the amphitheater near the cafeteria.

Music professor Igor Korneitchouk is the Songwriters’ Club sponsor. He notes that many students on campus are part-time musicians and play in outside bands or other groups. But on campus, they usually have no connection with the music department’s offerings–except for taking the introductory Music 100 class, according to Korneitchouk.

Ebrahimi saw this as an opportunity to connect student musicians with a campus group to promote their growth and networking, and at the same time, possibly attract students to the many classes in the music department for developing musicianship skills. One such class is the Projects in Composition class that Korneitchouk teaches.

The composition class is already unique to the community college environment because such studies are not normally part of a two-year music program. But many students taking the composition class since Korneitchouk initiated it in 1999, have benefited immensely from personalized workshops offered in almost every class meeting, and the opportunity of taking the class more than once for credit. The workshops, with follow-up and classmates’ input, enable students to transform their works from rudimentary efforts at the beginning of the semester into polished, final works-recorded onto CD’s at the end of the term and ready for placement into each individual’s music portfolio.

Ebrahimi loosely patterns his club’s songwriting workshops on what he has learned in Korneitchouk’s classes. He also has friends in different music venues in town and has even consulted with the San Diego Symphony about special aspects of performance for students. Ebrahimi gladly passes on business advice he has gained through professional contacts to serious club members who wish to make a lifelong commitment as performers. Members find out how to start up bands and advance ones already in existence. When members perform at the Mesa amphitheater, Ebrahimi coordinates efforts by “wearing the hat” of stage manager.

So far, in its second semester, approximately 350 students have signed up for Mesa Songwriters’ Club emails and attended concerts, with a much smaller number participating in weekly meetings and the special workshops.

Musicians who performed last Thursday took the opportunity to form a jazz quartet and perform in a location with high visibility, in front of many students. Like most jazz musicians, they mostly perform jazz standards and improvise upon them, which demands advanced musical training.

“I value the Songwriters’ Club a lot because it’s a chance to express your ideas in a creative manner, a creative outlet — and you won’t get judged on whether you’re good or bad,” said sophomore Jesse Audelo, who is specializing in saxophone and keyboard.

Quartet member Robert Hernandez, also a sophomore, plays guitar and performs mostly jazz standards, but also likes to write his own original pieces. He integrated two of his original works into last Thursday’s repertoire. There are no lyrics yet but he says he can count on Ebrahimi for help when he writes them down in the near future.

Ebrahimi doesn’t actually critique members’ lyrics unless it could add to technical excellence. For example, if the word syllabic count doesn’t match with the music, and revision would help the finished product, he makes suggestions. He believes in letting songwriters have freedom to say what they want.

Ebrahimi started young in his own musical training in Iran, studying piano at nine years old and composing when he was 13, using a 16-track synthesizer. His teacher taught him how to multi-track and record, so he created simple melodies and accompaniment. Learning counterpoint then gave him more essential tools for musical development. He started teaching music as a teenager and gained confidence, later studying classical guitar. Ebrahimi said it is especially rewarding to be able to guide a songwriter in defining personal style and imprinting the songs with that individual’s unique “sound stamp.”

Next semester, the Songwriters’ Club will introduce its new division, the Mesa Venue, sponsored by the Associated Students Government of Mesa College. There will be a variety of weekly events, including more frequent concerts, open-mic sessions, and other kinds of performances like comedy, political speeches, points-of-view and observations, and poetry. With the additional material to be performed, maybe another campus department will get involved besides music.

And, there’s more. A songwriters’ competition is on the slate for students and performers of Mesa Venue. The grand finale is: The winning works of the competition will be produced professionally and marketed as the “Mesa Album of the Year.” How’s all that for a music club still under a year old-but with a “can do” attitude and a knack for making dreams happen.