Whiz Kid: Garrett Rose

Garrett Rose, 16, Junior at Danbury High School

We are accustomed to roses gracing us with sweet aromas, and now we can also look to Danbury's Roses for equally sweet sounds.  

Garrett Rose (no relation to the author) was first noticed by Danbury Patch at the Chili Cook Off at the Danbury Arena in February. Rose played the guitar in the band, Stand By, whose music was described as “mesermerizing.”

It came as no surprise that in our search for this week's Whiz Kid, Garrett Rose was recommended by his teachers for his passion, hard work, and his inate sense of melody.

 Band Director and AP Music Theory teacher, Paul Riley, said, “Both Garrett and his brother are very lyrical.”

 “Garrett is so passionate about music. He has written about 20 songs, and with the program Garage Band, he can play all of the instruments on the song. He also has copyrighted six songs,” said his father, Matt Rose. “I play the drums and my wife plays the piano, but we are no where near as good as he is.”

Garrett's mother Heather Rose is a first grade teacher at Stadley Rough. She said, “Garrett started playing the saxophone in the fourth grade and now he plays the guitar all the time. We got him his first guitar when he was eleven years old, and he was enthusiastic about it, but he didn't start writing his own music until he was thirteen.”

 Garrett credits his brother, Trevor, as being an inspiration. Trevor started playing piano about ten years ago and is noted by all to be very talented as well. However, Trevor has set his sights on becoming a Chemical Engineer at the University of Rhode Island. Trevor said, “My brother puts a lot of time into his music, much more than I do.”

 The closeness of the brothers is apparent the instant they are seen together. They have the kind of chemistry that twins have, where knowing looks and smiles pass between them as if they have a secret language.

 Riley said, “I have known the family a long time. They are a very nice family and have always taken the boys to concerts. They are a musically sensitive family. The boys also have a great sense of humor, very dry. Garrett is one of the funniest people I know.”

 Speaking of his music, Garrett said, “It's like physically applying math. I'm very mathematically minded. I am logical but not with direct logic.” Rose explained further, “I compare music to other classes, like in math, something plus something always adds up to something.  It's predictable. But that isn't true in a class like social studies. There can be different results even when conditions are the same. When you play music,  you know what it will sound like.”

 Music has a deeper meaning for Garrett besides his ability to create beautiful music. “ I am not very good with words but music is my way of telling a story.”

 Rose has an opinion he would like to share with music makers everywhere, particularly those who write songs like, “Hey there, Delilah.”

 “No more four chord songs. People say that it draws emotion but you need to get something more from the music. If you are just relying on lyrics, then you aren't saying anything with the music itself.”

Hopefully, Garrett will continue to tell us stories with his music for a long time to come.