Paul Buono: Musician and 2L

When Buono was younger, his parents gave him private music lessons, which started in the second grade.

"They made music a part of our studies; it was like [our] education. We practiced every day, so it was like doing your history homework," Buono recalled.


It was not until junior high that Buono saw music more fondly rather than as a chore. One of his biggest supporters was his grandfather, who was a musician—a pianist, to be exact.

"He drove us to our [music] lessons, so he was a primary force in our education and upbringing, especially in music," said Buono.

During his senior year of high school, Buono participated in a student exchange program though his school, studied in New York and Hawaii, and then returned to New York for a while. He graduated cum laude in 2002 from the University of Massachusetts with a jazz studies degree. His concentration was in piano.

Buono then entered the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, CUNY, and received an M.A. in Jazz Performance/Composition in 2004. After taking some time off to work as a full-time musician, Buono received a "generous scholarship" to attend Western New England College in Springfield, Massachusetts, and at 27 years old, he is now in his second year.

During the time that Buono was a full-time musician, he spent his days playing on cruise ships, including those operated by Princess Cruises. He would work as a musical director or a sideman. After realizing that his financial future was not looking as bright as he had hoped, he needed another plan.

"I did always have an interest in law. As an undergrad, I took a couple of ethnic and political science courses. My elective courses usually included law-related courses," he said. "[I was looking into] finding a job and [making myself] marketable."

He saw the different opportunities law could bring him, so he decided to make the best of the situation.

Buono said he has come to prefer certain aspects of law.

"I like giving arguments, and I like being in front of a court and in front of a judge," Buono said. "I like being called to discuss a case law. I think, more generally, I really like the idea of debating in the courtroom setting."

Right now, Buono is hoping to apply for a law student internship with the United States Olympic Committee for the summer of 2008. He currently teaches at Clark University in his hometown of Worcester, Massachusetts. He usually takes classes during the day and then works from around 5:00 p.m. until well after 8:00 p.m. Buono also provides private lessons and other musical services to students, his specialty being the piano.

Buono has temporarily put his personal goal of playing music full-time on hold, but he hopes that law school will provide a musical path just the same.

"I want to work in the music industry somehow in the future...whether it be on the A&R side, I want to get my foot in the door somehow," he admitted. "It was never my intention to leave the music industry. If I can merge the two in any way, [I will be happy]. I think what I would be interested in would be an agent or a manager for a record label. That is my goal."

Whether he will ultimately become a professional pianist, a composer, or an A&R representative, Buono is just taking it day by day right now. His favorite memory so far has been getting through finals.

Q. What do you do for fun?

A. A lot of my fun stuff involves music. I play with wedding bands and jazz ensembles on weekends. I also go down to New York and check things out when I can. I'm a big summertime guy, so I like a lot of outdoor stuff—camping, hiking. I also like to travel.

Q. What CD is in your CD player right now?

A. Avishai Cohen—Colors.

Q. What is the last magazine you read?

A. National Geographic Adventure, the only magazine I subscribe to.

Q. What is your favorite TV show?

A. Arrested Development.

Q. What is something most people don't know about you?

A. I got my scuba-diving license in Bora-Bora.

"The last final was constitutional law in May, and as soon as I finished it, I looked back on the entire year-you know how they do in the movies? I literally thought back and was really impressed with how much work was involved," he recalled.

Buono said that things have not been easy, though, and that he's had his moments of regret and doubt.

"I remember I had a few friends who were in law school before I went and would say that 'it's more work than you've ever done in your life,' and I didn't really listen to them a lot, but they were right," he said. "The workload at law school is [immense]. It is so much more than I expected. But there is a 'brotherhood' between a law student [rather than] a non-law student because you get each other."

He said that his experience in law school has taught him a lot so far, and he advised future law students to check prospective schools out before picking one.

"There's a lot more merit in visiting a law school class. Really consider sitting in classrooms, because you can get a sense of the environment. You can see how the courses are," he said. "It makes a difference to see if you want to do this. Overall, I made the right choice, but I had many moments of thinking long and hard about it. [Law school] is so competitive even friends become afraid to assist you. So much weight is placed on where you graduate in comparison to where you are placed."

Buono is hoping he will be one of the students who stands out and makes it to where he wants to go.

"In 10 years I hope to be involved in music somehow. I would love to work with a record label and maybe [incorporate] that with jazz," he said.