He can be seen playing the tuba in The Marching 100, delivering smooth jazz on the saxophone with Tallahassee Nights Live, or speaking about the music industry in his classes. Victor Spuck is a fourth-year music industry major from Broward County who isn’t afraid to show his love and skill for music.
Spuck’s arrival at Florida A&M University was a tough decision for him. His freshman year he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. It is one of the top music conservatories in the country and breeds professional musicians, Grammy award winners, and well-known industry executives. With an acceptance rate of 51%, there is no doubting Spuck’s talents that allowed him to get into the college.
Spuck describes his time at Berklee as “full of connections and great musicians.” He was given access to live concerts for Hiatus Kaiyote, Snarky Puppy, Cory Henry and John Mayer. He got the opportunity to play with Tia Fuller, a Grammy Award winning saxophonist, who gave him advice and tips on navigating the industry and his instrument.
Although Spuck loved his curriculum and events at Berklee, the school culture didn’t make him happy.
“The conservatory environment wasn’t conducive to the person I wanted to be,” said Spuck. “Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week spent only talking about music, wasn’t letting me grow in anything except music.”
Spuck made the life-changing decision to transfer to FAMU after taking a semester off at Berklee. The Marching 100 had a huge impact on his decision after being trained by a FAMU grad and former Marching 100 member in the Dillard High School marching band.
“Being at Berklee brought me to a point where I didn’t want to touch my instrument at all,” Spuck said. “I knew I would have a full college experience and still enjoy music and make fruitful connections at FAMU.”
And he did just that. He wasn’t afraid to get involved and make strong bonds at FAMU despite being a transfer student. He joined Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America, Jazz Band, and served as a section leader for The Marching 100.
Felicia Leonard, a FAMU student and friend, explains what it is like to work with Spuck musically.
“You can just tell that music is his passion. He picks everything up so fast and sounds great when he plays,” Leonard said.
Spuck’s high school band director, Sheldon McClean, also highlights his determination to be successful.
“He’s a go-getter, he goes and gets what he wants. Despite adversity, he will reach any goal he sets to achieve,” McClean said.
Spuck plans to use his music industry degree to go into talent management.