LI String Festival Taps 21 from Huntington
The prestigious Long Island String Festival Association tapped 21 Huntington students to join with 300 exceptional young musicians for this year’s county-wide orchestra performances.
The festival includes performances on the elementary/middle school and junior high/high school levels. A combined crowd of about 2,000 attended the concerts. LIFSA is the most highly regarded festival for string students, since there is only one orchestra at each level.
Despite having just a pair of rehearsals, the orchestras were impressive, as students displayed superb individual and collective skills, performing with the precision of a professional group. J. Taylor Finley Middle School string teacher Debbie Kim served as the co-chair of LISFA’s junior high orchestra.
The Huntington musicians invited by LISFA to play this year included Huntington High School students Andrea Cerini (viola), Joseph D’Esposito (violin I), Taylor Fritts (viola), Oliver Lockwood (violincello), Jennifer Polster (violin II) and Jeffrey Sun (violin II), Finley Middle School students Hailey Giordano (violin I), Jesse Feldman-Stein (viola), Katherine Gerdes (violincello), Christian Jamison (Violin I), Ashley Melgar (Violin II), Ben Nikodem (double bass) and Suzie Petryk (violincello), Jack Abrams School students William Garfinkel (viola), Holly Grabowski (viola), Jessica Straub (double bass) and Miranda Nykolyn (cello) and Woodhull School students Samantha Conte (double bass), Blake Emsden (viola), Shannon Foley (viola) and Camryn Libes (Violin II).
“The LISFA orchestras never cease to amaze me,” said Joan R. Fretz, district director of fine and performing arts. “Each group plays with such professionalism, performing music well beyond the typical level played in school orchestras. It demonstrates the extraordinary capabilities of young musicians when they take their musical studies seriously and dedicate regular effort and practice to their craft. That's why it’s so wonderful that Suffolk music teachers volunteer to provide these high level performance opportunities.”
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