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...He began by telling the story of how he was a boarding
school student back in the 60s — something that the students
could all relate to...
O
n 11/11/11 – at 11:11 a.m.
no less, Peter Noone took the
stage in the Walter Reade, Jr. Theater to
a packed house, accompanied by Frank
Annunziata, Director of the School’s Cre-
ative Arts Center as well as Noone’s long-
time friend and former musical director
(Noone referred to him as “The greatest
living guitarist in America.”). He began
by telling the story of how he became
interested in music as a boarding school
student back in the early 60s; something
the students could certainly relate to. That
led to stories about the British rock scene
in the early 1960s, including the time
Noone saw The Beatles — back when
Pete Best was still their drummer — come
in second place in a talent competi-
tion, losing to a country western band.
“The other band wasn’t better than The
Beatles,” he said. “They only won because
they had a wagon wheel on stage.”
Annunziata’s students then asked
Noone questions. The first was “Why is it
so hard to make it in the music business?”
and his answer was surprising. “I actually
don’t think it is. This is the best time to
be in the music business since 1962.” He
told the students that the internet has
leveled the playing field, because now
anyone can quickly make a recording and
make it available for the whole world to
hear. “I bet there are at least three people
in this theater who have a hit song in
them,” he said. “The question is: How do
you make sure someone hears it?” Noone
also heard two students, Emma S. ’16
and Bobby C. ’14, play songs they had
written and said he was impressed.
After a few more stories, “Mr. A.”
handed Noone his old guitar and the two
tore through some Herman’s Hermits
classics like “Baby, Baby, Can’t You Hear
My Heartbeat,” “I’m Into Something
Good” and “Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got A
Lovely Daughter”; the latter of which
featured accompaniment by Andrew T.
’12 on ukulele. The morning ended with
all of the students from the Creative
Arts Center joining Noone on stage for
“There’s A Kind of Hush.” The entire
audience joined him for a sing-along.
Faculty member Billy Shovan
exclaimed after the show, “The workshop
was one of the best experiences of my 23
years here at SKS. I grew up a big fan of
Herman’s Hermits and it was a dream
come true to watch in a seat ten feet from
the stage. He sent a great message to the
students. It was a blast!”
Jonathan S. ’12 added, “Peter Noone
is an inspiration. While on stage with
him, I was overcome with joy. He shared
important information with us about the
music business and inspired me to further
my career in music.”
Peter Noone accompanied by
SKS student Andrew T.
Peter Noone accompanied
by SKS student Emma S.
“Mr. A.” and Peter Noone join forces.
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