Who is Ball in the House?

Ball in the House is an R&B/soul/pop a cappella group based out of their hometown of Boston, MA. The five-member vocal band (Wallace Thomas, Ben Detty, Montario 'Monty' Hill, Dave Guisti, and Jon Ryan) has an extensive tour schedule (approx 250 shows a year) and has performed all over the country at theaters, clubs, schools, and festivals. They have performed with such artists as The Beach Boys, Fantasia, The Jonas Brothers, Gladys Knight, Lionel Richie, Jessica Simpson, Blondie, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson, KC & The Sunshine Band, and numerous others.

Workshop Sessions

For the entire day on both Thursday and Friday, the band members held workshops and discussions open to any Upper School student. The open sessions included:

• Panel Discussion: What It Takes to Make a Career in Music
• Jam Band Rehearsal
• Beatboxing 101
• A History of A Capella
• Vocalist Master Class
• Vocal Ensemble Rehearsal

Ball in the House also visited individual classes (Instrumental Ensemble, Introduction to Performing Arts, Music Tech) to help our students fine-tune songs and projects they have been working on this year — at times just to jam and play music together. In both the larger open workshops and smaller classroom sessions, the Ball in the House crew really became part of our community; getting to know our kids and having real discussions along the way. They built a sense of camaraderie that was palpable during the final performance as our Upper School students joined them on stage.

"Our tagline is ‘Music That’ll Move Ya.’ We’re always trying to move people that we get in front of whether that's striking a heartstring, reminiscing about things through our music, or even just being able to check your stuff at the door and have a good time — being able to escape together in harmony. The world needs a whole lot more harmony. We’re just five guys from different parts of the country coming together and learning from each other — learning from our differences. I think our differences are our strength and we are able to be brothers because of it. We love each other like brothers and for us to be able to give that love to people we don’t even know it truly is a blessing." — Dave Guisti, Baritone, Ball in the House

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About Music Education at Severn

Severn's comprehensive music program encourages students to develop a love of and appreciation for music. Severn has a long history of fostering the development of musical skills, and our program provides students with a wide range of opportunities to demonstrate their expanding musical engagement. Our curriculum also promotes the understanding and appreciation of many different types of music by both performers and listeners. 

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