2018 Outstanding Achievement Awards

Garden City Friends of Music’s mission is to support music education and encourage the development of music skills in our children. Our annual membership drive and fundraisers enable us to make grants to Garden City schools to supplement and enhance the music programs. In addition to the Garden City Friends of Music scholarship award given to a graduating senior every year, students in fifth, eighth, and twelfth grades are recognized for outstanding achievement in the categories of Band, Orchestra, Vocal Music, and Electronic Music. This year, there are 15 award winners.

GARDEN CITY HIGH SCHOOL

Brandon Gong

Outstanding Achievement in Band
Brandon Gong’s passion for music has been a lifelong affair. He started playing the piano at the age of five; since then, he has learned to play the clarinet and oboe, completing NYSSMA Level 6 with perfect scores on both instruments. Brandon has been selected to the All-County band and orchestra in all eight years of eligibility, and performed as the principal oboist for the All-State Symphonic Band in his senior year. In addition to these honors, Brandon has participated in the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra and in the American Honors Performance Series at Carnegie Hall, and was enrolled in the Manhattan School of Music Precollege program and in the Interlochen Center for the Arts. Brandon will be attending Harvard University in the fall, where he looks to continue his love of music.

Catherine Wallace

Outstanding Achievement in Orchestra
Catherine Wallace began her interest in music at a early age. Her family background of an Irish heritage pointed her towards Irish dancing and Irish music. As she began the violin at Stewart School, Catherine also began Irish fiddle lessons. She has loved her participation in the Garden City School orchestras throughout the years, especially under the direction of Mrs. Gullotta. Catherine entered the high school orchestra as a first violinist. She has loved serving as a violin tutor in the district to the younger grades for the past four years and enjoys sharing her love for the violin with others. This summer she has had the privilege of assisting with the district’s first summer orchestra program.

Tommy Flanagan

Outstanding Achievement in Vocal Music
Music has always been a significant part of Tommy’s life. Over the past 8 years, Tommy has performed in over 20 shows at Plaza Theatrical Productions in Lynbrook. Some of his favorites include Link Larkin in Hairspray, Tommy Ross in Carrie: The Musical,Gaston in Beauty and the Beast, Warner in Legally Blonde, Curly in Oklahoma!, and Lurch in The Addams Family. Tommy will be performing in his last production at Plaza at the beginning of August in The Who’s Tommy. In addition to shows at Plaza, he has also been heavily involved in Garden City High School’s music department. Tommy has been a member of Chamber Choir, the Vocal Jazz Ensemble, and a recent inductee of Tri-M. In addition, he has been the student director of Concert Choir for the past 3 years. He was also elected onto the executive board of the International Thespian Society for 2 years where he served as the publicity representative. Tommy will be attending Lafayette College in the fall where he will study neuroscience.

Garden City Middle School

Corinne Lafont

Outstanding Achievement in Band
Corinne Lafont begin playing clarinet in third grade. She branched out to add the tenor saxophone to her repertoire in fifth grade. Starting in fourth grade, Corinne was evaluated by NYSSMA and achieved grades on clarinet placing her into the All- County band for each qualifying period from fifth grade through eighth grade. Corinne was also selected by the Nassau-Suffolk Youth and Honor bands for the clarinet. Each year, she played the tenor sax for the GCMS Late Night Jazz Ensemble, while additionally participating in NYSSMA for her secondary instrument, too. Recently, Corinne was selected to play clarinet for the Nassau-Suffolk Wind Symphony. She wishes to thank Ms. Iovino and Ms. Sanders for their support and guidance. Corinne believes that the Middle School music department has inspired her to pursue musical achievement.

Jenny Zheng

Outstanding Achievement in Band
Jenny Zheng began playing the flute in third grade under a private instructor. She joined the Stewart school band in fourth grade; however, she was able to skip straight to the fifth grade ensemble. In addition, she played a Level 3 piece during NYSSMA, which allowed her to receive first chair in All-County the following year. By fifth grade, Jenny had moved up to a Level 4 piece, while also receiving first chair in her school ensemble. She joined the Middle School band in 2015, and has been playing a Level 6 solo since then, achieving a perfect score in both seventh and eighth grade. Furthermore, Jenny also attended All County Band every year. Recently, she was notified that she was accepted into the High School Wind Ensemble as a freshman. In addition to in school ensembles, she has also attended the Nassau Suffolk Youth Band, the MYO Flute Choir and the LIU Chamber Music Festival. Moreover, for three years, Jenny has earned scholarships of $500, $750, and $750. Even though flute is her primary instrument, Jenny also began playing piccolo last summer and recently earned an A+ for NYSSMA Level 6. Additionally, she had started piano in first grade and completed NYSSMA Level 6 by fourth grade, but later discovered that her passion lied in the flute. Therefore, she now mainly focuses on playing piano for the GCMS Late Night Jazz Ensemble. Jenny is very honored to have received this award and looks forward to continuing to make music through the High School.

Guanzhong (Andy) Liu

Outstanding Achievement in Electronic Music
Guanzhong (Andy) Liu began his music career in 4th grade by learning to play the drum kit. He later showed strong interest in guitar and mastered the fundamentals of the instrument. During 7th and 8th grades, he joined the Electronic Music Program, and received the Outstanding Achievement Award for his efforts in it. Guanzhong is currently playing the guitar and keyboard, making his covers of songs and writing his own music. His inspirations are his friends, family, music teachers, Michael Jackson, The Weeknd, Ed Sheeran, Jay Chou, and other great musicians.

Aidan Wu

Outstanding Achievement in Orchestra
Aidan Wu began his interest in violin at a young age. Besides private lessons, he played throughout school under Mr. Albani in elementary school and Mrs. Gullotta in the middle school. He was selected to play in All County and Long Island String Festival in 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. He is looking forward to play the violin in the high school.

Molly Dougherty

Outstanding Achievement in Vocal Music
Molly Dougherty’s interest in music began as a very young child. She participated in several productions with the Garden City Community Theater. At GCMS, Molly lent her voice to both Chorus and Festival Chorus for all three years. She also performed in each year’s spring musical. Molly participated in the NYSSMA Festival and sang in the All-County Chorus. She is currently working on mastering her skills with the ukulele. Molly’s contributions as a vocalist will continue in the fall at Garden City High School.

MaryKate Logler

Outstanding Achievement in Vocal Music
MaryKate Logler is 13 years old and just completed eighth grade at Garden City Middle School. She is passionate about singing and also enjoys musical theater. MaryKate has been taking voice lessons since she was seven years old. She received a perfect score on her NYSSMA vocal exam and was granted a place in the All-County Choir, which performed in January 2018. One of the highlights of her last year at Garden City Middle School was her role as Wendy in their production of Peter Pan Jr.. MaryKate has said that to her, music is a wonderful and positive outlet for students and all people in general. She is very proud to receive the Garden City Friends of Music Award for Outstanding Achievement in Vocal Music.

Stewart School

Julia Wang

Outstanding Achievement in Band
Julia Wang, a 5th grader from Stewart School, was honored to receive the Friends of Music Award for Outstanding Achievement in Band. Julia began playing flute in 4th grade and has greatly enjoyed participating in both Stewart Band and Pops Band under the direction of Mr. Psenicka. This past January, Julia was selected to perform at the All-County Music Festival (2018 Division I West), where she found her love for music. She also participated in NYSSMA Level 3 for flute. Julia recently got accepted into Nassau-Suffolk Performing Arts Youth Band. She looks forward to continuing the band next year at Garden City Middle School.

Samuel Chan

Outstanding Achievement in Orchestra
Samuel began his interest in music at a very young age. He played drums, keyboard, and violin. However he found his true love in the viola when he joined the school orchestra in 3rd grade. He served as a Principal Viola in the orchestra. He participated in the NYSSMA Festival, as well as the NYSSMA Majors Festival, at which the Garden City String Ensemble won a Gold rating. He also played with his friends as Orpheus Strings at the GC Historical Society’s Annual Flea Market and at Sea Cliff Farmers Market. His inspirations are his dad and grandfather who also love music, especially string instruments.

Samantha Fiore

Outstanding Achievement in Vocal Music
Samantha Fiore began her interest in singing at the age of seven. At that time, she began taking singing and piano lessons at the Music Academy of Garden City (MAGC). She also participates in the MAGC’s Musical Theater program. At Stewart School, she played Antonia in the fifth-grade opera, The Tales of Hoffman, and was part of the school’s Select Chorus. In addition, she was one of five students selected to represent the school in the fifth grade All-County Chorus. She also participated in the 2018 NYSSMA Festival as a vocal soloist.

Stratford School

Abigail Jesberger

Outstanding Achievement in Band
Abigail was introduced to the flute in the 4th grade and quickly learned to love playing the instrument under Ms. Kane’s tutelage. Abigail received her first flute as a birthday present for her 10th birthday. In 5th grade, she participated in All-County Band and scored a perfect score on her NYSSMA performance. Abigail currently studies under Jeredythe Arellano, and is excited to continue playing next year in GCMS. Her favorite songs to play are Disney movie songs.

Emma Reis

Outstanding Achievement in Orchestra
Emma first learned to play the violin in the third grade as part of Stratford’s orchestra. She quickly fell in love with the violin’s beautiful sound and started to look forward to continuing her lessons. During fifth grade, she joined the String Ensemble as a first violin. She participated in the All-County Concert, the Long Island String Festival Association, and NYSSMA Majors in 2018. Her love of the violin is largely due to Mr. Albani’s patient teaching and mentoring, as well as the way he makes orchestra “lots of fun”. She also takes lessons at the Music Academy of Garden City.

Luciana Ciccone

Outstanding Achievement in Vocal Music
Luciana Ciccone has been singing ever since the age of three. She started taking voice lessons at the Garden City Music Academy in second grade. In fourth and fifth grade she participated in the NYSMA Music Festival. In fifth grade, she was accepted into the All-County Festival. In fourth and fifth grade, Luciana was also accepted into the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra, also known as MYO. In MYO, she has performed in various well-known venues with her chorus, including Lincoln Center, Citi Field, and Carnegie Hall. In fifth grade, Luciana also played the role of Belle in Stratford School’s production of Beauty and the Beast. Luciana’s role model is her sister Francesca, who is also an accomplished singer. This summer, Luciana will attend Theater Arts Playhouse in Syosset. Her dream is to perform on Broadway someday.