Logan Bedard
Logan Bedard knew from an early age that he wanted to be a drummer.
“He started playing at 5 and really got serious when he was about 6 years old,” said his father Todd. “By the time he was 8, he was telling me that he really wanted to play in a rock band.”
Bedard knew rocker Shea Quinn, who, at the time, was running the open mic night at Gullifty’s Underground in Camp Hill. He brought his son over and asked if Logan could sit in on a song with the house band.
“It was ‘Play that Funky Music,’ and Shea really loved it,” recalled Todd. After that, father and son returned each week and, when the band’s drummer couldn’t make it, Logan would fill in.
“Soon, he began playing gigs with Shea,” said Todd. “So far, they have played about 120 shows together.”
When The Perfect 5th Musical Arts Center was looking for a drummer for its Student All Star Band (the most advanced group in the school’s rock band program), Quinn recommended Logan. Now 11 years old, Logan participates in two rock bands and takes an occasional drum lesson.
“To start with, The Perfect 5th is a really great place,” Logan said when asked about his experience at the music education mecca in Hampden Township. “You can go there and take lessons on pretty much any instrument, and they have a great staff.”
He says being immersed in rock music at The Perfect 5th has been a great way to learn. “You get the band experience, but you also learn things along the way, like how to write songs and read music,” he said. “I really love playing with other musicians about my age who are at my level.”
The Perfect 5th opened its doors in 2011 with just a handful of teachers and students, but since has grown to more than 300 active students and 20-plus teachers. It is housed in a beautiful, recently renovated space that has seven sound-insulated teaching rooms and two large classrooms. The “performance garage” at the opposite corner of the parking lot includes a stage with professional sound and lights.
The center is managed by Executive Director Eric Wirsing, who studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston, and Operations Manager Terry Selders, who is the former manager of the rock band The Badlees. Three or four interns are also hired annually.
The Perfect 5th offers a wide range of instruction covering multiple genres, such as classical, rock, jazz and folk. Private music lessons are available for youth and adults on many instruments, including guitar, piano, voice, bass, violin, ukulele and banjo, as well as brass and woodwinds.
What’s particularly unusual about the center is the variety of group classes and workshops that are offered. These programs include Celtic band class, kinder flute, quick start piano and the burgeoning rock band program that Logan Bedard is involved in, allowing students to further their skills, play in ensembles or get a taste of an instrument.
The center often holds performance opportunities for its students and recently staged a “rockcital” at Harrisburg’s Fed Live. More than 250 friends and family members squeezed into the venue to watch 20 or so students perform music by artists as diverse as Gladys Knight, Halestorm and Nickelback. Rather than rely on previously laid down tracks, The Perfect 5th Student All Star Band backed singers, guitarists and other musicians who had prepared solos. The event provided a wonderful opportunity for the students to appear on a professional stage in front of an appreciative audience.
“You know, most of these kids aren’t going to do this as a living,” said Todd Bedard. “But it’s a real gas to see them up there where all these national club acts have performed.”
This month will be a busy one for The Perfect 5th. The arts center has piano, vocal and guitar classes starting in April, and the month ends with its annual Spring Recital, which will be held at the Unity Church in Enola on April 27.
In addition, summer camp enrollment is in full swing with offerings such as rock band, songwriting, music video, young rockers, jam/improv camp and much more. Some of the campers will be involved in the Fall Rock Recital (Aug. 2 at Fed Live) with performances and a music video debut.
The Perfect Fifth Musical Arts Center is located at 6240 Carlisle Pike, Mechanicsburg. For more information, classes, workshops and summer camps, visit https://theperfect5th.comor call 717-691-9100.
