This past summer, Jeff Nissman ‘24 toured with English progressive rock band Yes through Europe. He, along with 20 other 15 to 21-year-old aspiring musicians, played in nine different shows in a successful month-long tour across six different countries.
Yes is a British progressive rock band that has been a prominent presence in the world of rock music since the late 1960s. The band is known for its symphonic style of rock music, characterized by intricate compositions, musicianship, and elaborate vocal harmonies. Yes is often cited as one of the pioneers of progressive rock, a genre that combines rock and classical music elements.
Starting at the age of five, Nissman learned to play a variety of instruments. He now plays the keyboard and piano, saxophone for the GA Jazz Band, and also the bass guitar. Nissman has taken many advanced classes for music at GA, one of which was the notoriously hard AP Music Theory.
When asked what got him into playing music at such a young age, Nissman said, “My dad was the one to get me into music.”
Despite his interest now, Nissman says, “I didn’t really like music until I started to play more rock music and more popular music that I knew, instead of classical music.” Nissman expressed how music started to become more fun for him and gave him motivation to practice and become better.
This process of finding his “type” of music led him to start practicing rock music at the School of Rock in 2018. By coincidence, the bassist for the Yes Band had come to watch a recent “Yes-themed show” that Nissman had participated in during the month of February 2023. At the end of the show, Nissman left with both an amazing performance and a business card, one that would lead him to earn his spot on tour with the Yes Band.
After numerous rehearsals from the end of the school year through the beginning of the summer, Nissman finally got to play his first show in Madrid. The tour went to various locations and performed for as many as 10,000 people in one concert.
Nissman said, “It was unique; it was something fun to do, and it was fun.” Traveling by bus from gas station to gas station for meals with his friends was something that he had never done before, but ultimately, made his experience one of the best he had ever had.
Looking towards the future, Nissman is uncertain about his career being centered exclusively around music; however, he is certainly looking forward to working with the Yes band on another tour across the US this upcoming summer.