Alumni Profile: Jim Centorino, BC '71, returns to play national anthem

On Sept. 8, thousands of fans gathered to witness a display of talent by several Boston College-bred athletes at Alumni Stadium. While processions of tardy tailgaters stumbled in from the Mods, few of the fans realized that in arriving late, they may have missed the most prolific talent present in Chestnut Hill that day.

Jim Centorino, BC '71, a musician, teacher, and author, played the national anthem on the trumpet, along with fellow Boston College graduate Brian Ofria. While it was, without a doubt, special for Centorino to take part in this especially exciting season, this was no once-in-a-lifetime honor; he has been performing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at BC since the days of Doug Flutie. Centorino has done the same for the Celtics, Patriots, Los Angelees Lakers, Los Angeles Kings, and Los Angeles Blazers (of the former indoor soccer league), even performing at fight nights at the former Boston Garden (now the TD Banknorth Garden). He recalled one night at the Garden when he fought through the flu to perform the anthem, delivering "a fine job."

"All they had to do was call me, and I was there," said Centorino, summing up his attitude for playing at games. Aside from John Kiley, the legendary baseball organist and Fenway Park fixture, Centorino cannot think of anybody who's played more national anthems here.

While it is a joy for Centorino to return - his California license plate reads "BOST COL" - it is an honor for BC to welcome such an accomplished musician and alumnus to its campus. Centorino has accumulated several accolades over the years, decorating such halls of fame as Massachusetts Drum Corps Hall of Fame, the World Drum Corp Hall of Fame, and, most recently, the Buglers' Hall of Fame in 2005.

Things have changed over the years, Centorino noted, regarding music at Alumni. In his years at BC, he was the band president and a trumpet soloist. "We never got money," Centorino said, but that didn't stop the band from supporting its teams. "If you wanted to play at the Beanpot, you jumped in your car threw some instruments in, and drove yourselves," he said. "You packed into five cars in the freezing cold weather, and then you'd play your heart out for your team."

While driving himself to road games as band president, Centorino found some time to study geophysics and earn a spot as a member of Sigma Xi, the scientific research society. A passion for music and science, a rare combination, may seem odd to most, but Centorino considers the fields to be "not conflicting but complimentary." He also minored in Russian. While attaining a master's degree from BC for geophysics, Centorino placed himself under the tutelage of Hugo Norden, the paradigm pedagogue in the field of trumpet composition. With Norden, he earned a degree from the Boston Conservatory of Music as well, garnering valedictorian honors.

"The basis of it all was being able to compose music mathematically," Centorino said, regarding his rare mix of scientific and musical background - though he notes the significance of the art behind it all. He insisted that a composer has to write a song just as "an architect would design the framework of a building - it has to hold up." He has explained this to his students, in order to motivate them to study physics.

He has been teaching physics for over 30 years, teaching in Boston, Natick (a year after Doug Flutie graduated), and California, where he now resides. He currently teaches at Louisville High School in southern California, an-all girls high school run by Irish nuns. He described working with the sisters as a blessing; "it was the first time hearing an Irish accent since the move," he said.

Currently, he writes and produces his albums through a self-started business, Centorino Productions. They are for sale on www.centorino.com, but rumor has it that they may appear on the shelves of the BC Bookstore soon. One album, titled Ivory, will be featured at the new ape exhibit at the Los Angeles Zoo. Centorino said that composition is much like dreaming.

"You wake up in the middle of the night with a tune in your head, and you either get up and write it down or lose it," he said.

Centorino's attitude regarding his talent is neither boastful nor bashful. He offers some wise words, summarizing his success and offering advice to others: "It's a matter of what you have, what you can offer, and what you're willing to do."