Heart and Sol

The twangs of banjos and trills of violins fill the air at a Colorado Bluegrass Festival. Enthralled fans crowd the campground-turned concert venue, and at the center of the concert mainstage stands senior Sol Chase with his mandolin gripped in his hand, prepared to begin a song.Chase has loved music since before he can remember. Partially encouraged by the musicianship of his parents, he began to learn how to play the guitar at age four. Two years later, he picked up the mandolin, his main instrument.When he was younger, Chase’s interest in music was sparked by his “very, very alternate lifestyle” in Europe. His passion didn’t fully blossom until his middle school years, but he has become a regular performer at various bluegrass festivals around his home state of Colorado. His father, Merrick Chase, occasionally accompanies him during his summer concerts.Chase has continued to display his passion for music here at the Academy. Last spring, he and English instructor Todd Hearon founded an unofficial club called Banjo-clock, which still runs to this day. The club hosts a forum every Wednesday afternoon for like-minded musicians to discuss and play music.The inspiration for a three-piece band was laid down in those weekly sessions. By creating Banjo-clock, Hearon had given Chase the opportunity to play alongside upper and guitarist Erica McCormick more often. The two wrote a few songs but wanted to take it further; they asked senior and banjo player Hannah Merrill to join. The trio formed an acoustic string band called Three Quarter Moon.The band specializes in the bluegrass and folk genres. The three members occasionally perform on campus at Exeter Association of Rock concerts, as well as at local venues. Since fall term, they have been playing at the Exeter Inn on a weekly basis.Merrill commented on the time commitment for such a feat. “At times, the workload gets difficult, especially since we have dedicated F format to band practice every day. But it always pays off.”“While the three of us value each other’s contributions equally during our time spent as a band, Sol usually takes the leadership role when it comes to teaching or performing new songs, particularly of the bluegrass genre,” she added.Through Chase’s senior songwriting project, the trio plans to produce a full-length album of roughly ten songs. Hearon will be supervising the project and may even contribute his own musical talents.Chase is using this opportunity as a second chance; three years ago, he had self-produced an album. Now, looking back at the experience, he recognized that it “did not turn out well— at all,” and he hopes that this album will be an improvement. He is also looking forward to the challenge of collaborating on the songwriting process.As an additional part of the project, Chase will be broadcasting some of the songs on WPEA, Exeter’s FM radio station, along with commentary about the songwriting process. Bluegrass is not new to the station; Chase has been D.J.’ing for WPEA since his prep year. Now, he is on the station’s board and works as the Production Manager.He runs a show with McCormick every Sunday, where he plays folk and bluegrass music.“We try to introduce New England to what [bluegrass] is, although most of our listeners are people back home,” Chase said. “WPEA is my favorite club on campus for sure. It’s a really great environment, and I love the advisors. It’s really fun, both musically and with the people.”WPEA General Manager and senior Sabrina Ortega-Riek commented on his work ethic.“On the board we are all friends; we talk and joke around at meetings, so sometimes it will get to the point where it’s hard for me to direct the meeting. But Sol knows when to stop,” Ortega said. “He knows when to be professional but he also knows when we need to lighten the mood.”Music is only half of Chase’s passion. He took a filmmaking class his lower year and soon fell in love with the art. A few months later, he founded Exeter Film Club. “[The class] really got me going a little more, but I guess I’ve always loved movies and creating stuff, being artistic and creative,” he said.Currently, he is working on a ten-minute fiction film that he co-wrote with prep George Matheos. The two have already chosen a cast and have been filming for the past three weeks. They plan to devote most of spring term to post-production.Through his camera and his mandolin, Chase has used the Academy to nurture passions he could not have found anywhere else. “I didn’t know anyone in Colorado who even owned a camera,” he said. “And there are people here working on their own movies in their free time.”Chase said that he enjoys the freedom of expression he finds in music and film. “Writing is also really fun, but there’s an expectation that you give background, you give the reader everything he needs to understand something,” Chase said. “But with music and sometimes with film, there’s a lot more freedom to present a piece and have it viewed for its own sake rather than needing a holistic meaning.”