Students from Cleveland State University’s School of Music took to the stage at the Grog Shop, a live music venue in Coventry Village, Tuesday, Nov. 18. The end-of-semester showcase featured vocalists, electric guitars and even a vibraphone, giving young musicians the opportunity to demonstrate their talent in front of a live audience.

Each group played a six-song set for a crowd of friends, family members and fellow musicians, marking the class’s second live performance of the semester. 

Cian Liaskos, a member of the jazz ensemble and first-year master’s student in jazz bass performance at CSU, said the showcase took place after a semester of steady preparation. 

“We work through it until we get what is hopefully the best product today,” Liaskos said. 

Students selected the songs they wanted to perform, then spent the weeks leading up to the show rehearsing and getting = feedback from their professors. For Liaskos, the stage was familiar territory. 

“I got my undergrad here (CSU), so I’ve been working with a lot of these people and doing these shows for a long time. It’s always fun, it’s always a vibe,” he said. “In my experience, sometimes playing jazz can be some of the scarier stuff because your audience usually knows all the songs that you’re playing already… It can get a little academic.”

Liaskos paid tribute to the professors in the performance program, who are themselves performers.

“Every single one of the teachers at CSU is still actively performing and gigging,” he said. “The teacher here Chris Vance is the bass player for The Playhouse Square. He teaches at Case Western Reserve University and Baldwin Wallace. So you get a bunch of ways and different tastes because they’re not just at one school.”

Liaskos said professors who play give students an edge. 

“That’s the kind of experience you get at Cleveland State that you might not get where the teachers are full-time professors only,” he said.

Professor and bass player Chris Vance said the positive relationship between students and professors at CSU’s School of Music is an intentional outcome of the program. He explained that the goal is to develop a supportive atmosphere within the music department.

“One thing we really focus on in the department besides caliber and academics and all that stuff, we try to really develop culture,” Vance said. “We make sure everyone’s kind and nice to each other, and we also try to interface with them on a more personal level rather than broadcast directions to them.”

Vance, who co-founded CSU’s pop rock performance program, said he sees firsthand the effort that student musicians put in behind the scenes. He pointed to the ensemble’s set list of reimagined songs as an example of how creativity and effort outside of class are essential for a successful performance.
 

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“They have to be really creative, and really work on them and go home and practice them,” Vance said. “So it’s a lot of preparation.”

Semester after semester, Vance watches as students grow into their potential as musicians, which he said is one of his favorite parts of the process. 

“The best part is watching them grow,” Vance said. “They all show up as dweeby little freshmen, and then they become really solid, real musicians and by the time they leave they’re great.”

The program's live performances give the family and friends of student musicians the chance to see this transformation for themselves. 

Dara Liaskos and Laura Berthold came to the Grog Shop on Nov. 18 to support their brother and son Cian as he played upright bass. Watching him perform live is something Dara and Berthold said they never grow tired of. 

“We come to see most of his stuff, even if it’s just a random Tuesday and we’ve both got off work, and we’re tired and driving in an hour from where we live,” Berthold said. “We don’t care, because we love to see him do what he loves.”

Whether it’s another CSU jazz ensemble show at The Grog Shop, or a show for Whiffler — the Cleveland-based rock band that Cian plays bass in alongside fellow CSU student Aidan Forrey — every note resonates. 

“As a mom I’m just so happy that he’s found his passion so young," Cian’s mother smiled.

When the Grog Shop’s lights came back on that Tuesday, the room filled with the clatter of instrument cases snapping shut and the chatter of friends and family congratulating one another. For the students, this was more than just another night, the performance was the culmination of months of practice and growth. 

When ensembles return to CSU in the spring semester, local stages will once again host familiar faces refining their crafts, and new musicians stepping into the spotlight.