Project Trio performed at Jackson Performance Hall on Georgia Southwestern University on February 3. The trio took the stage with Greg Patillo on flute, Daniel Berkey on saxophone, and Peter Seymour on the double bass.

One of the strings on the bass broke. Someone in the audience asked if it was part of the performance. Berkey replied that it was not.

Several minutes and a new string later and the trio began a lively performance. Music ranged from their own composition, Djangish, to Morzart, Mr. Sandman, and Bach. Especially impressive was the solo performed by Patillo, who is known as the “beat box” flutist.

Freshman GSW nursing student, Analiese Bevans, gave her opinion of the concert. “It was really cool. I liked it a lot. I feel like they all brought a unique thought to like, their instruments.”

She noted her favorite. “Definitely the Westside Story one. I’m a theater kid, so that’s one of my favorite shows.”

Bevans shared what made it memorable. “It’s a unique experience to be able to listen to in-person music, because you’re able to connect with the people who are playing, and be able to see the emotions put into the music itself, rather than just hearing it on the radio.”

Ann Landers stated it was one of her favorite Chamber Concerts. “This was the most uplifting, joyful, awesome, invigorating concert I have been too.”

She gave her favorite part. “I think the very first song, their improvo. Their improvos were the best, because it was all them.”

Landers hopes more will come to enjoy the Chamber Concerts. “We need to see some younger people in this auditorium supporting this program.”

Patillo also gave an interview. “I’ve been studying flute my whole life, and I was really raised with classical flute chops, but as I got to be a little older, I was just trying to have fun and be entertaining on the instrument, and I was backing up poets in San Francisco and learned to beat box, doing rhythms on the flute to back up words.”

He described his technique. “I can combine the beats of beatboxing with the flute, using inhaled sounds and clever breathing tactics to kind of blend the two together.”

Patillo recalled the San Francisco scene and how it shaped him as an artist. “It was liberating, because I spent my whole life trying to do what I ought to do, what people taught me to do, what I was supposed to do.” His time on the street led to a shift in perspective. “I decided instead of doing things right, I just wanted to be entertaining, and that really freed me up to just see whatever works.” The feedback provided a sounding board for his creativity. “You can quickly tell when people like what you’re doing or don’t, or if they’re bored with it. And it was fun tinkering, making those sounds. It was a really cool collective of people.”

Patillo’s career took off after he and his significant, one of the street poets, moved to New York. “I started doing it in the subway quite a bit. Made some videos on YouTube, and it launched my career.”