Sunny Wilkinson blinked back a few tears as she performed with the Hillcats on March 26. Not only was she singing the music of Joni Mitchell — one of her musical inspirations — but she was performing with the Hillcats for the last time.
After five years of singing with the Hillcats, teaching master classes, and coaching jazz students individually, Wilkinson has retired from her position as artist in residence at Hillsdale College. The additional free time will allow her to develop as a blossoming potter as well as to focus on her other work, she said.
“The Hillsdale faculty in the music department is generous and warm. The professionalism and inclusiveness of the faculty is very beguiling and helpful when you’re a new person on the block,” Wilkinson said. “But the thing that impressed me the most was the intelligence of the students. Everyone there is so smart and well-spoken and articulate and attentive, and the kids are just terrific.”
Wilkinson stumbled into the position after meeting Artist and Teacher of Music Melissa Osmond at a performance in Jackson, Michigan. According to Wilkinson, the connection was instant, a “have-to-be-friends kind of thing.” Osmond said she knew immediately she wanted Wilkinson to come to Hillsdale to fill the deficit in vocal jazz and provide support for the already-existing program.
“I was so, so happy because students would come into their lessons and say ‘I really want to work on jazz.’ I really don’t know jazz and I’m not going to pretend I can teach them to scat,” Osmond said. “She’s a world-class singer, she really is.”
Wilkinson is now an accomplished professional performer in jazz, but she was originally trained in classical performance as a choral major at Arizona State University and plays both piano and trombone. When Osmond had to miss lessons for a week, she left Wilkinson in charge — the first time a private teacher had left Wilkinson in charge of all her students.
While at Arizona State, Wilkinson joined a “quasi-rock, quasi-jazz, quasi-folk” band as the trombonist. She then started using her trombone skills in the jazz band, and ultimately became a jazz singer.
“It requires a lot of listening, a lot of practicing, a lot of performing, a lot of searching material and finding things that speak to your soul and spirit, doing literature that’s way above you. Every time I recorded a record, I always did a song that was above my skill level to help me grow,” Wilkinson said.
Even before college, Wilkinson was a performer. Her nearly 50 years of professional experience means performing is second nature and the stage is her home.
“I always feel like the people in my audience are coming into my home and I’m giving them the best of everything I have. They’re going to have the best food, the best drink, they’re going to put their feet up on my coffee table and relax, and I’m going to take care of them. It should be enriching and fun and people should be enlivened at the end of the experience,” Wilkinson said.
At Hillsdale, she’s conveyed that love of performing to her students, though she only has a few private lessons and master classes with them each semester.
“I love to see the passion in the students, the interest, the growth. I love the balance of voice and watch it grow from a desperate, entangled snare and watch it become a beautiful voice,” Wilkinson said. “But most of all I love to see the development of their artistry and responding to their individual voice and their unique aspect that they start expressing through the music.”
Senior Gianna Marchese has been taking lessons from Wilkinson since she came to Hillsdale. As the teacher’s assistant for the jazz department, Marchese said Wilkinson has helped her inspire other students to listen to and love jazz. Marchese will continue taking private lessons for her off-campus in preparation for the Hillcats’ upcoming CD.
“She is just a fantastic musician. The biggest thing I took from her is leadership; I know how to effectively run a combo, to make sure my voice is heard and that things are comfortable, and to sing from your heart because that’s where the true melody comes from,” Marchese said. “I’m so grateful for Sunny and for the experience she’s given me.”
Wilkinson brought both curiosity for and direction on jazz to Hillsdale.
“[She taught] how to open up, how to phrase differently, how to get away from the printed rhythms, how to syncopate, how to create jazz rhythms within the song, how to vary what they were singing … and the confidence to do that,” Music Director James Holleman said. “Improvisation is a lost art in classical music. Jazz helps bridge the gap. There should be more room for some freedom in classical music as long as its intelligence, and she gave the intelligence.”
Wilkinson worked with students of all levels as well as the entire choir on occasion. She played naturally with the Hillcats, many of whom she knew before and gigs with on a regular basis. Holleman said it will be challenging to fill her shoes.
“She’s warm, she’s open, she’s caring, but she’s a real pro. So there’s the warm, caring, nurturing teacher, and then there’s the pro that’s had a lot of experiences and had some toughness from those experiences,” Holleman said. “We were lucky to have her here. It was a tremendous five years, and we’re going to miss her.”