Inside The Tabernacle of Praise, Jordyn Julien bounced her leg nervously as she waited for the program to start Tuesday morning. Julien, 18, of Holbrook, “dabble[s] in everything,” including guitar, piano, bass, and drums.
“Being here, being able to actually work with actual producers and just doing the stuff I love, that’s fire,” Julien said.
The camp was founded by Kirjuan Freeman, Keithen Foster, and New England Patriots cornerback Marcus Jones. Sponsored by Boston Medical Center, the camp is part of the trio’s two-year-old nonprofit R.E.A.L, Realistic Experiences for Artists and Leaders.
“The R.E.A.L. program has to be real, and it can’t be more real than being in the community,” said Freeman, 39. “We understand the impact of providing transformational results in our community.”
Freeman, who goes by “Free,” grew up in Greenville, S.C., but after attending Berklee College of Music considers Boston home. He met Foster, a Randolph native, at the college and both understand the challenges of starting a music career in Boston.
They lived together in Randolph in their early 20s around 2009, making music for their band, Elevation Theory, and playing some of their first gigs at Hard Rock Cafe near Faneuil Hall.
“We have worked with some of the biggest and the brightest stars, but it all stemmed in our brotherhood coming out of Boston,” Freeman said. “We were just kids living together, 19 Upham Street, running up $3,000 power bills.”
Elevation Theory later toured with Jordan Knight from New Kids on the Block and Nick Carter from Backstreet Boys.
Freeman now works on the management side of the industry. Foster, 35, who attended Berklee on a full scholarship, finished a tour as the bassist with Usher just before returning to Randolph. He participated on H.E.R.’s Grammy-winning album, producing two songs.
The pair are hoping to inspire future generations of Boston musicians and shine a light on the “creativity economy” in the city, which is not seen as a musical hub on the level of Atlanta, Los Angeles, or New York.
“We’re number one for sports, we’re number one for education, we’re number one for medicine, why not be number one for everything music?,” Foster asked.
The pair are backing Malachi J. Lewis to start putting their vision into practice.
Lewis, whose stage name is MJL, is the program’s first success story from last year. Lewis, 24, attended Berklee on a scholarship and met Foster and Freeman his junior year. He went to last year’s camp as both a student and mentor.
“What these guys … have been able to do has been so inspiring,” Lewis said. “Because of Free and Keithen, I was able to be part of events that I dreamed of being in.”
With the help of Freeman and Foster, Lewis played the drums on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” in November with GloRilla and T-Pain.
This year, the camp is focusing on live performance with the catchphrase “from the studio to the stage,” Freeman said. Students from 14 to 21 applied through the R.E.A.L website, some learning about the camp from family members and others from band teachers.
Ten students affiliated with organizations, churches, and community centers in the Boston area, including Randolph, Holbrook, and Weymouth, are attending the camp. All have some level of musical experience, whether instruments or singing, Freeman said.
Last year, 15 students, some of whom were part of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston at the Josh Kraft Mattapan Teen Center, attended the camp and produced three songs — “Dream Chasers,” “Body Rock,” and “Want to Love You” — that are available on SoundCloud.
In the studio at the church, heads bobbed in unison, bodies swayed, and fingers tapped. The small space pulsed with the smooth sound of bass and string instruments, coupled with a steady drumbeat in the background.
Joshua Jackson, a local producer from Dorchester known as Leo the Kind, took into account the students’ favorite artists, such as SZA and Joshua Bassett, and in less than 10 minutes created a new beat on his computer.
“Just know that this industry doesn’t owe you anything,” Jones told the young musicians as they watched. “You got to work for everything.”
Jones started recording songs during his junior year in high school in Enterprise, Ala. A remix of one of his singles, “Make It Right,” reached the ninth spot on Music Week’s commercial pop chart in the United Kingdom in October 2023.
Freeman said the camp also seeks to give the teenagers real-world advice about the music industry, such as pointing out jobs that are less widely known, like making songs for TV shows or commercials.
Happy with his initial set, Jackson, who also teaches at Boston Arts Academy, said “that’s dope.”
“Wooooweeee,” Lewis said, shaking his head in delight.
“Blow them away,” Maliyah Silveira, 16, of Boston added, putting her hands up.
“I already have the song written,” said Bello, the local musician, nodding along and moving her hand in time with the music.
The nerves the teenagers started the day with faded away with the music. Silveira, a songwriter, and Julien, the Holbrook teenager, asked Jackson to try the beat with less drums.
How about with more string, Julien asked, joined quickly by Aryana Seeramsingh, 17, a guitar and saxophone player from Randolph.
“I was just going to say that!,” she said.
Julian Sernandes, 16, from Randolph, enjoyed the vibe and listened attentively.
“It gives me courage that someday I can make it,” said Sernandes, who plays percussion instruments and the guitar.
Ava Berger can be reached at ava.berger@globe.com. Follow her @Ava_Berger_.
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