I recently met with the music group, Sons of Serendip, currently on tour, in a Zoom Interview. You may remember them. Finalists on America’s Got Talent, Season 9 and Season 1 of America's Got Talent: The Champions; the band who wowed the judges and audience with their evocative and orchestral renditions of popular contemporary songs across many genres.
The group consists of Kendall Ramseur (Cello and Strings), Cordaro Rodriguez (Piano & Guitar), Mason Morton (Harp), and Micah Christian (Lead Vocalist). Micah hails from Randolph, MA, and is credited with uniting the four friends, who met and later formed Sons of Serendip. Since he introduces the band and the songs they perform, Micah naturally serves as the default spokesman for the band. Bandmates Cordaro and Mason, although quieter, actively engaged with great smiles and nodded the support of their friend. Throughout the interview, their synchronicity was evident and consistent, much like their outstanding on-stage performances.
I didn’t know what to expect. Usually, not every member of a band shows up for a Zoom interview, but these consummate professionals arrived on time, were engaged, and kept me smiling from their respective, undisclosed locations.
Since Sons of Serendip cover a very broad range of songs in their repertoire, Billboard has had a difficult time describing and categorizing the band. For instance, after covering music by Stevie Wonder and Prince, Billboard Magazine attempted to list them as Rhythm and Blues (R&B) artists. Covering rock songs from Kansas and Evervessence adds further obstacles and challenges to Billboards’ category schemes. This also keeps SoS from being listed in Billboard as a Classical Crossover band, the most fitting category for a quartet featuring two standard classical instruments, the cello and harp.
The Blast!: “First off, I’d like to thank Sons of Serendip for granting me this interview. I’ve been a fan since your first appearance of America’s Got Talent. You are a band of brothers whose music ‘checks all the boxes’ of music genres. When all is said and done, how do you feel about being referred to as a Classical Crossover band?”
Micah and the Sons smiled amongst themselves, then Kendall, the cellist, answered the question.
Kendall: “I think on certain days, classical crossover feels good, certain other days, maybe not so much, but overall, it's fine. We DO a fusion of a few different genres. We try to sprinkle in little classical themes, or motifs, as Easter eggs… We have two classical instruments, the cello and the harp, then, you have Micah and Cordaro, and they are more from the contemporary world. So yeah, I think it's a cool little mesh of sounds. And, yeah, I think it works.”
The band didn’t have a lack of possible suggestions for suitable categories, either. Mason quickly blurted out his favorite: “I like Classic Fusion!”
Cordaro, nodding his head, confidently offered, “Chamber Pop”
Micah suggested one that Sons of Serendip were considering recently, “Cinematic Pop”.
Not only do the beautiful classical-sounding arrangements performed by the band defy description, but the Sons of Serendip, themselves, quietly defy established musical conventions. Sight unseen, one may never realize that this ‘not so classical’ quartet is comprised of only Men of Color. I read in the Boston Globe, that at that premiere appearance at Madison Square Garden, these men of color were confused with the basketball players assembling that day. They don’t wear systemic racism on their sleeves. Less any politics or mention of race, Sons of Serendip defy norms when they take the stage or make albums. They silently kick down barriers, simply by playing the music they resonate with, as they arrange and perform.
The four originally met at Boston University, while completing graduate degrees in Cello Performance, Law, Harp Performance, and Theology. Micah spoke about the serendipitous meeting that brought them together:
Micah: “Yeah, so we met at Boston University, while in graduate school. I remember meeting Cordaro who shared an interest in creating music, and he said, “Oh, yeah, I have a roommate who's a harpist and a roommate who's a cellist.” Micah reflected a second, and added, “And in my head, I had an idea as to what, you know, what they're going to look like… but, when I showed up and saw Kendall, and then Mason, I was like, wait, “You're the cellist, and you're the harpist??” Elatedly shocked, Micah added, “Guys. I sing. I sing!”
The sigh of relief in Micah’s voice was palpable and significant. Particularly relevant, in a time of ‘Black Lives Matter’ and journalists named ‘OrchestrasAreRacist’. Why? Men of Color are largely absent in classical music today. The Washington Times recently reported that data, compiled by the League of American Orchestras, paints a starkly white landscape regarding racial diversity in classical music. The survey’s final note is harsh, at best: the “proportion of non-white musicians represented in the orchestra workforce — and of African American and Hispanic/Latino musicians in particular — remains extremely low.” Without any discussion of ‘the sigh’, we continued.
The Blast! Magazine: “Everyone’s interested in knowing, how did you come up with the name of the band, Sons of Serendip?”
Micah: "We wanted a name that resonated with how we came together as a group, so we looked up a few words. Serendipity was one of those words. If you look at our website, sonsofserendip.com, our story is filled with Serendipity. A number of coincidental moments helped bring us together as a group. And so we looked at the history of the word serendipity and we learned that it comes from the 12th-century Persian tale called The Three Princes of Serendip. These three princes go on a journey and make discoveries by accident that benefit their lives; we felt like that's how we came together as a group. So we took out Three Princes and used Sons instead. And that's how we became Sons of Serendip, and not the Three Princes of Serendip."
The Blast!: “I love your story, full of meant-to-be coincidences. And!…” without hesitation, I pulled out my red Boston University Hoodie, and established our own moment of serendipity, “…We are ALL Terriers!” Just like that, the five of us were deeper connected by providence as Alumni. While we mutually basked in the afterglow of camaraderie, I continued to the next question.
“The songs you pick for arrangement start as complex songs, to begin with, but then you perform them so effortlessly. You make them your own. I always know when I’m listening to a Sons of Serendip song. Is the process of arranging songs, easy or difficult for you?”
Micah: “When we first got together as a group, it felt like an instant connection. There was instant synergy. When we started to try to build an arrangement, It was like, 'Oh, wow. I like what Kendall's doing.' 'Oh, yeah! I like, what Mason's doing'. 'Oh, that's really cool', and the next thing you know, we had new arrangements that we were building, and we started building them really quickly, too. That was pretty eye-opening or shocking for us. That first time we played, in Kendall's room, we had these old keyboards and instruments that we were working with, BUT since the first time we sat down and played, we noticed that we had created a nice fresh sound. We knew we were unique.”
Again, connected, Kendall, Cordaro, and Mason grinned in agreement.
The Blast!: “Most fledgling bands start slow, gig locally, and build up a following. Sons of Serendip’s very first appearance as a group, however, was on a television show watched by MILLIONS of Americans— America’s Got Talent. Indisputably the largest venue in the world for any group. How did that come about?”
Micah: “ We had joked about just doing a performance or something together in the future, but it wasn't something that we really took seriously. We each graduated and went our separate ways, we were all doing different things.” But then, “In 2014, I heard about the America's Got Talent auditions. At first, I was thinking about trying to put together an acapella group with some friends. Nobody was really interested. So I just checked in with Cordaro and Kendall and Mason.” 'Hey, would you guys be interested in putting something together and actually giving this a shot? See what happens?' Everyone was like yeah, sure, but nobody thought that we would end up in the finale. We had no expectations, at all.”
The Blast!: “I’ve been a fan of AGT since Season 2, around 2007. I remember seeing that first performance. But how did you go from ‘let’s play someday’, right to Madison Square Garden?!”
Kendall: “ It was It was kind of weird; I think there was a little bit of a disconnect for me what was actually happening. It wasn’t until the day before the audition at Madison Square Garden, that it clicked: WE ARE AUDITIONING AT Madison Square Garden! I was thinking, oh man, this is so legit! Every big artist performs at Madison Square Garden, and it really dawned on me when we walked out and heard the audience clapping. THAT helped, a lot, to soothe my fears and anxieties. Not because I hadn't performed before, but WE really hadn't performed together as a group, as a unit. I didn't know how the other guys were going to deal with that level of pressure. But, yeah, we performed. I was definitely terrified. It was the largest crowd I've ever performed for, AND, it was beautiful. A lot of emotion could be felt. There were tears, and the judges really seemed to love the performance. Then it was history from there.”
The Blast!: “The song you played, ‘Somewhere Only We Know’, is a cover of the hit song by the British group, Keane. Your version eclipsed the original, in my humble opinion. Who selected that song?”
Cordaro: “The producers!”
Micah: “Yes, the producers! There’s an elaborate process they have to go through in order to get clearance, or permission, for any song played on the show. So, we had to work within their limitations to play certain songs. At the time, we were all working day jobs, some of us didn’t end our workday until ten or eleven at night, so we wouldn’t be able to start rehearsing until that time of night. We’d get together and spend hours, sometimes until two a.m, most of the time. And we were doing arrangement after arrangement and sending them to the producers. Finally, we sent them our arrangement of ‘Somewhere Only We Know’ and they said, Yes, that’s the one!”
The song ‘Somewhere Only We Know’ has since become their iconic song, with its rich lyrics and serendipitous potent. It’s a perfect match for the Sons, their story, and their journey as a band.
Within five years of their stellar premiere performance, Sons of Serendip said they felt like a real band. They no longer felt ‘green’. The friends cemented an identity through a unique sound. This singular sound grew the expansive fanbase that packed sold-out U.S. concerts and who bought their three albums. Who they WERE connected them to Boston Pops and Keith Lockhart, and John Legend. In 2019, they were invited to compete in America’s Got Talent: The Champions, Season 1. Sons of Serendip competed in the Finals, as winners in the music category.
The Blast!: “Sons of Serendip are currently on tour, survived COVID by hosting Virtual Concerts, have four albums, millions of fans, and getting worldwide attention. You’ve even hinted at a HUGE opportunity to represent the United States at your first Transglobal concert in March. (I think I just teased the audience a little) Why do you think you have struck such a chord with the universe?”
Micah: There are a lot of people who have become numb, numb with all that is going on in the world. Whether it’s politically, or as a result of the Pandemic, and lots of other ways that people have been feeling overwhelmed. A lot of people have expressed that they have actually felt numb for a while, but what we’ve learned is that there’s a power in music that helps people to feel again. To feel their emotions, again. We’ve had a large number of people who have talked about how they felt comfort from our music, felt healing, or that our music brought them to tears. All of these responses have led us to believe that we are on the right path in creating our arrangements.
Sons of Serendip recently released, their newest album entitled, Mosaic. Critics and tastemakers, alike, approve. This fourth album is considered their most personal work to date, as more than half of the songs on the album are originals, featuring their iconic sound. “Mosaic” is currently available to purchase from the Sons of Serendip’s official web, www.sonsofserendip.com. A collection of their songs and albums are available on Amazon and Apple music.
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