My Musical Life
Musical History - Musical Artifact
A Look to the Past
My musical history is a conglomeration of instruments, styles and ensembles that has made me the musician I am today. Although I am sure I was exposed to music in my early years, my intentional journey into the world of music did not begin until Kindergarten. I was very fortunate to be in a general music class where the teacher was very passionate about her students and there were many wonderful resources. In first grade, she began a program called “Music Enrichment” with a couple of her students. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we spent half of our lunch period learning about music with Mrs. Burritt. We learned how to use midi-notation software and we all wrote our own pieces of music. During the second half of that year, we did a huge project on composers and recorded a TV show for the local educational network RETN.
During my first three years in school, I was very involved in the music program. When I moved on to third grade, my passion for music fell to the wayside. I started taking piano lessons in first grade, so when I reached our 3-5 general music class, which was mostly centered on piano skills, I found myself quite bored. During third fourth and fifth grade, I also sang in the chorus. During that period, chorus was mostly a social function.
Our instrumental program began in fifth grade, and for me it was a struggle to decide what instrument I wanted to play. For an unknown reason, I was drawn to percussion (labeled “Snare Drum” at that time), but I also loved the sounds of the saxophone and French horn! I ended up choosing the snare drum because it seemed like it was an instrument that not many other people would choose.
My reason for choosing snare drum turned out to be false. Initially there were twelve students playing snare drum in the concert band, and five students in my weekly lesson. By the third week, there were only six snare drummers in concert band, and only one other student in my lesson. By the end of the first semester, our numbers in concert band had dropped to five and I found myself in a weekly private lesson. I did not realize how fortunate I was to have a private lesson for three full years until I found that I was leaps and bounds beyond the other students. My experience in piano also meant that I could focus on learning to play the instrument instead of learning the language of music.
I quickly progressed through the band program and in sixth grade I was already playing in the top concert band. I also had the opportunity to play drum set in our jazz band. Although I rarely play drum set now, I am glad to have had the introduction to that style of percussion.
When I moved onto high school, I continued to play in band, but I was introduced to a new aspect of percussion. I was expected to play xylophone and marimba as well as concert percussion. Those pitched percussion instruments are what hooked me on percussion. As high school went by, I was always deeply involved in the music department. Of course, I participated in the district, all state, and New England music festivals. During my sophomore year I also auditioned for the Vermont Youth Orchestra. Through the orchestra I have had many amazing opportunities, including a tour in China during the summer of 2007.
My sophomore also brought a musical experience I never expected and has changed my musical life. On a whim, I joined the male a cappella group at our school. I dove into the area of vocal arts and soon found myself as a leader in the department. My junior year, I auditioned for the all-state chorus and was accepted. At that point I knew that I was serious about music, so I searched for summer education opportunities. During the summer of 2006, I attended the Berklee School of Music Percussion Seminar where I studied with Nancy Zeltsman. I also attended the Eastman School of Music for the month of August. It was there that I solidified my passion for music and made the decision to attend college for music.
My senior year was a very exciting and busy time in my musical career. I was elected as the musical director of the male a cappella group and commenced my journey into leading a vocal group. I also learned to write and arrange vocal music from our choral director and a few community mentors. As with most high school musicians, spring was full of auditions. I auditioned for the all-state ensembles, colleges and the all state scholarship. I received a performance scholarship and was asked to perform at the all-state festival. I was accepted at Penn State University, where I am currently a student, studying with Dan Armstrong.
Repertoire
• Current Repertoire and Studies
o Restless, Rich O'Meara
o Selections from Johann Sebastian Bach's Cello Suites
o Etudes from "A Modern Method for Xylophone, Marimba and Vibraphone" by Morris Goldenberg
o Etudes from "Portraits in Rhythm" by Anthony J. Cirone
• Past Repertoire
o Yellow After the Rain, Mitchell Peters
o Rain Dance, Alice Gomez
o Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra, Ney Rosauro
My Musical Resume
Education
• Studied piano with Carol Hewitt (1996-2003)
• Studied percussion with Dr. Tom Toner at the University of Vermont
• Studied Marimba with Nancy Zeltsman (Berklee Percussion Festival 2006)
• Studied Percussion with Dr. Ruth Cahn (Eastman Music Horizons 2006)
• Champlain Valley Union High School (2003-2007)
• Penn State University School of Music (Class of ’11)
Music Experiences
• Shelburne Middle School Wind Ensemble (1999-2003)
• Champlain Valley Union High School Band II
o Percussion (2003)
o Trombone (2005)
• Champlain Valley Union High School Band III (2004-Present)
• Champlain Valley Union High School Men’s A Cappella Chorus (2004-Present)
o Appointed Musical Director (2006-2007)
• Vermont Youth Orchestra (2004-Present)
o Student elected officer (2006-2007)
o Concert tour in China (Summer 2007)
• Plymouth State All-New England Festival (2005, 2006)
• Vermont District Festival
o Section Percussion (2004)
o Principal Percussion (2005)
o Qualified but could not accept placement (2006)
• Vermont All-State Festival Chorus (2006)
• New England Music Festival
o Orchestra - Principal Percussion (2006)
o Band - 2nd Percussion (2007)
• Champlain Valley Union High School Pit Orchestra
o Les Miserables (Fall 2005)
o Leader of the Pack (Fall 2006)
• Master Class Attendance
o So Percussion African Drumming (Participation) (2005)
o So Percussion Orchestral Drumming (Participation) (2005)
o Midori Violin Masterclass (Observation) (2006)
• Music Theory I (VYOA) (2004)
• Music Theory II (VYOA) (2005)
• AP Music Theory (CVUHS) (2006)
• Attended Berklee Percussion Festival (2006)
• Attended Eastman Music Horizons (2006)
• Chorus, Steven Patronio Dance Company performance, Flynn Theater (2007)
• All-State Scholarship/Performance recipient (Marimba) (2007)
• Evelyn D. Springstead Vermont All State Scholarship (2007)
• Vermont All-State Festival Band (2007)
• Senior Soloist, Champlain Valley Union HS Band (2007)
Musical Life – Academic Life – Social Life – Tasks of Living with Others