Merl is a Board member of Music in Schools Today. In this interview, he told us our inviting him to become involved has been his first work on the Board of a nonprofit -- that's when he started giving back to the community. His dad is famed blues keyboardist Merl Saunders, Sr., whose close family friends include Mayor Willie Brown, Phil Lesh, Michael Tilson Thomas, and many more too numerous to mention. The teacher he credits as his most important mentor, Louise McTernan, was also a founder of Music in Schools Today. So everything really is a circle!

MuST
How did you first get involved in music as a career?

Merl
Growing up in musical household, I think I always thought of music as an option. It wasn't necessarily what I had intended to do as a profession, even though it was a natural transition.

MuST
What did you learn about music as a child from your dad, family and friends?

Merl
"Learn your craft" was his advice, which translated to practice, practice, practice. My parents always encouraged my siblings and me in the arts. Dreaming, being creative and pursuing your goals were a part of everyday activities in our household. As a child, when you're around people who are at the top of their profession, it's what you base your reality on...you set your sites pretty high, because your standards are born out of your environment. As a child, I was around a host of musicians who today are considered legendary. Most of them were successful at the time, so that was a model in itself. A lot of the music we listened to on the radio were family friends.

Seeing people at the top of their professions, enjoying what they wanted to do was inspiring. I got to see at an early age how it played out for these people. I saw how they lived and conducted their lives. You see who you want to model your life after, and who you don't.

MuST
Who were your role models?

Merl
They weren't all musicians...and some of them were sort of anti-role models. They were people who overcame adversity -- like the great jazz pianist Hampton Hawes. He struggled with narcotics, but he kept forging ahead with his craft, recording and performing live. He was a great talent, not unlike another casualty, Mike Bloomfield. He was a brilliant musician, a kid from an extraordinary wealthy family, who was given everything and still with all the advantages, he died at an early age.

You have to look at everything and decide what is appropriate for your life. There are many obstacles along the way. On the positive side, I had a music teacher who was very influential in who I am as a person today. To have someone encourage you unconditionally for unselfish reasons, is one of the greatest gifts I have received thus far. I had the pleasure of speaking at her memorial service 20 years after I had graduated from school, which in a way validated everything I had learned from her.

MuST
Tell us about your childhood experiences in music.

Merl
One of the things for me growing up was, I chose performing arts, but in an area that had nothing to do with what my family did. It was classical music, so I could stand out on my own. I tried guitar at an early age and tried the trumpet, and I wasn't bad at either. I was introduced to classical music by way of an autobiography of Paul Robeson. I never thought I would do that, but it lasted for ten years.

Among my friends, singing or playing classical music wasn't the politically correct thing to do. But when I look back at it now, it was one of the most beneficial things I did. It taught you discipline, how to stand out among others and maintain your own voice. With most classical music there's a piece of history tied into it, and you learn that too. You not only learn the music itself, but who wrote it, when they lived, what was going on in the culture.

MuST
What do you like best about your job?

Merl
As a child I never thought of making a living, doing something for a career is something you really can't grasp as a child, but what you go through in school is the foundation for everything. I never thought I would be an educator. And I did well l in school. In my wildest dreams, I never considered I would be educating people about the creative arts field. You're drawn to something, it's like a natural calling. By no means has the path I've chosen been easy, but it is rewarding. It allows me to interject a certain amount of my own personality as a part of daily activities. The lessons I learned in school, though sometimes begrudgingly, are what has successfully charted my path.

MuST
Tell us about your present job.

Merl
As Executive Director of the Recording AcademyÂ, one of my goals is to leave a footprint on the Bay Area musical community. The Academy is dedicated to improving the quality of life and the cultural conditions for the music professionals. We are bound by no genres, which allows total creativity. I am involved in professional development, education and various outreach programs. With music being the only true universal language, there are no boundaries.

MuST
What's a day in the life like for you?

Merl
Working in a local chapter gives me the autonomy to really create my own environment, and still maintain the national objectives of the company. I am in the process of organizing the various outreach events for our chapter. We will have a presence at the San Francisco Blues Festival this week, where I will be discussing the Academy programs, in addition to educating the music community about out MusiCares program, which deals with substance abuse. Next week has a Songwriters panel, then a Studio Owners roundtable. I'm making the final touches on one event , while running full steam on t he others. So I'm juggling three events. Tonight I'm going to the San Francisco Symphony chorus and talking to them about joining the Academy. Next week I'm going to the Symphony as a guest of Michael Tilson Thomas.

MuST
Your advice for young people who want to enter the profession?

Merl
Learn the basic academics. You can never be over-prepared. When I was in school I never imagined the subject I was least interested in was how I would ultimately make my living. Learning the basics allows you the foundation to do anything you want to do. When I talk to young adults now, I tell them never to discount anything. You're getting an education, and it's your responsibility to yourself to make the most of it. People are given opportunities in this day and age that are unbelievable. You have to respect yourself. It's not you against the world, it's you understanding yourself and applying your knowledge to your profession.

I've had a very enlightening childhood, in that a lot of my parents' business contemporaries now deal with me on an equal playing field, have to call me for work. So life is a big circle, and you never know where you're going to end up.