Most young aspiring musicians looking to become performers head to music conservatories or schools with a strong music department in this country.
Not Kate Szumowski.
A French hornist, she recently graduated from Broadalbin-Perth High School and has been the member of the Empire State Youth Orchestra for the past five years. Now she’s likely to the Regal Conservatoire associated with Scotland to major within performance.
“I wanted in order to travel when I was still young, ” Szumowski said. “I had a new friend who was some sort of German immigrant who suggested I check out international colleges. That has been two years ago. ”
She began checking around plus once she discovered she could audition with tapes and have virtual interviews that would gain acceptance into an international school possible, the girl never looked back.
“That’s what I wanted and I could see the opportunities, ” Szumowski said. “I want to play in an international orchestra, inside operas in addition to do movie sound tracks. Then I want to get my master’s throughout music education and teach kids and even then found my own music institution for underprivileged kids to be able to further their own abilities. ”
Ambitious goals but typical for Szumowski. Music doesn’t run in the family but musical theater connections do.
“My grandmother sings together with my aunts did musical theater and additionally my mom started a good musical theatre program, ” she said. “My mom is an elementary school teacher at Broadalbin and she started a musical theater program. She never was the school instructor but was our drama educator in ‘Sound of Music’. It was your great collaboration. ”
Szumowski herself began piano at age 6 — her brother Jack, who is four years older, tried guitar yet preferred baseball. Then around third grade she started out voice lessons, which by fifth quality continued weekly through high school, as well as training in mandolin and violin. She attempted musical movie theater but decided that — not being a dancer — she’d opt out. Instead, she discovered French horn.
“I saw French car horn and decided to dedicate my life to that, ” the lady said.
Over the next several many years through high school, Szumowski performed on 25 college musicals as well as 40 others in the particular community, often co-directing, working as some member regarding the crew or teaching stage techniques to the drama students.
Besides the pit orchestras, she played in typically the school’s various bands not to mention played piano for the chorus. At 16, she also started a fabulous summer vocal program through her home after finding that the community had only one vocal studio. Currently she has 12 students. She furthermore applied herself to her schoolwork and is this year’s salutatorian.
“I drive myself sometimes, ” Szumowski said with a laugh. “You need an important star for you to shoot for and also go coming from there. ”
All this particular plus the girl years during ESYO, which recently awarded her with the Barry Richman Careers in Music Scholarship. And, possibly being inspired simply by her music commitment, the woman high institution revamped this music department and offered a course in songs theory for the first time, which usually reaffirmed her own direction to be in music as a career, your woman said.
Going abroad
But about two yrs ago, Szumowski began searching to where she wanted to go with regard to college. Knowing of your ex interest in pursuing a global connection, she began researching often the possibilities and was particularly drawn to help the conservatories in Scotland and Wales.
“I had meetings along with the brass heads as well as decided your Scots was a better fit … and people that We met would help me to where I actually wanted to go. The school is considered the third best for the world. It’s based in Glasgow. It’s an up and coming audio city plus I’d be in the heart of it. ”
The school, which was founded in 1847, teaches all disciplines including theater, film and production and offers up to regarding 850 college students just through the tunes department. Competition to be accepted is stiff. After making the initial application last October, the school contacted her in November asking for an audition tape. Szumowski prepared a tape that included several orchestral excerpts in addition to two solos that the woman recorded at her house. By Christmas, she received word that will she’d been accepted.
Her father, Edward, who will be a software developer, and your girlfriend mom, Jennifer, were initially concerned about their being so far from home.
“But both my parents understand the importance of the exact arts, ” she stated. “They’re each on board now and are excited for me to become a professional musician. ”
They were all going to visit the school and even had a virtual tour, but the particular omnicron variant destroyed of which plan, this lady said. Rather, Szumowski made a friend within Glasgow online who showed her on Google maps where everything was located and this girl already provides an apartment, which will be a three-minute walk from typically the school.
Best of almost all, she now has a new French horn that her parents bought her the couple involving weeks back in Boston that your lover loves in order to play upon. And she leaves for Glasgow on Sept. 15.
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