Jazz icon and MSO conductor visits with students at Milwaukee High School of the Arts

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Some of the city's next generation of musicians had the chance to learn and play alongside a world-famous jazz icon Wednesday, Sept. 24. 

Byron Stripling, a conductor at the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, stopped by the Milwaukee High School of the Arts. 

Stripling has led a number of orchestras throughout the country and knows the impact that artists can have on communities. 

"That's why music is so powerful," Stripling said. "It's got the power to make you run when there ain't nothing behind you. It's got the powers to laugh when there ain't nothing funny. It's got the power to make you cry when there ain't nothing to cry about. It brings up those emotions within you...we don't do this for money or anything, we do it because we have to. It's in our blood, it's who we are."

Through his years in the industry, Stripling has worked alongside artists such as Tony Bennett and Whitney Houston.