Huntington Pianist Plays at Stony Brook Recital
Emika Wada, a member of Huntington High School’s Class of 2009, was recently invited to participate in the Suffolk Piano Teachers’ Foundation honors recital at Stony Brook University’s Staller Center.
Ms. Wada, who is headed to Ithaca College to study music education, earned the American Legion Music Award along with classmate Amanda Ho at Huntington’s senior academic awards night. “I started private piano lessons at the age of four with my current piano teacher, Patricia Cestaro, a certified music teacher,” she said. “With her direction I was able to complete all six levels of NYSSMA (New York State School Music Assn.) with exceptional scoring.”
Ms. Wada has performed several piano recitals each year, played at area nursing homes and other locations and participated in nationally adjudicated auditions for five years with the National Piano Teachers Guild. “I started participating in the OOMPAH summer program, concentrating on clarinet, the summer before fourth grade,” she explained. “From there, I continued to study clarinet throughout middle school and high school. I was a member of the clarinet section in the Huntington Blue Devil marching band, and became section leader as a senior.”
"Emika was such a wonderful student,” said Jason Giachetti, high school band director. “I know she's going to make an amazing music teacher. She has a terrific blend of humor, respect and a great personality."
At the Stony Brook recital, Ms. Wada played Beethoven's second movement of the Pathetique Sonata. In a letter to Joan Fretz, Huntington’s director of fine and performing arts, Diana Gale, Suffolk Piano Teachers’ Foundation vice-president and recital chairperson wrote, “Students chosen for this special event have been selected from a group of approximately four hundred piano students from Suffolk County. Selected students must have participated in two of five sponsored recitals. They must be outstanding achievers in repertoire and practice habits.”
Ms. Wada was nominated to participate in the Stony Brook honors recital by her private piano teacher. An outside selection committee made the final decision on recital performers, who also have participated in auditions sponsored by the American College of Musicians Guild and NYSSMA.
The multi-faceted young woman has contributed to Huntington’s music program in many different ways. For example, she worked up designs for the marching band’s tour shirts for the 2007 and 2008 seasons. “During my senior year, I was also a concert manager for my piano teacher,” Ms. Wada said. “I helped her organize and execute her piano recitals.”
At Ithaca the Huntington alum will study instrumental education with piano as her primary instrument and clarinet as the secondary one. “Currently, I privately teach a piano student and I am an OOMPAH staff member assisting in beginning clarinet and piano, advanced band and Finley band,” Ms. Wada said. “I work closely with the students helping them learn their prospective instruments. As a future music teacher, I hope to impart to students the beauty of music and the joy and pride in playing a musical instrument.”
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