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Johnny Rotolo is still in a little bit of shock about the venue he will be playing at in only a couple of weeks.
“It is kind of insane to think that I will be playing at Carnegie Hall,” said the junior at Blue Springs South High School. “A couple of people got to go last year, but I am still surprised that they chose me.”
Rotolo has been selected for the 2012 American High School Honors Performance Series at Carnegie Hall. He will be playing trumpet in the Honors Band, which is limited to the highest rated high school performers from throughout the United States and selected international schools.
Melissia Goff, Rotolo’s band director at Blue Springs South, nominated him for the recognition. He then had to prepare a recorded audition to send to the committee along with his application.
“One day, I just went into there and ripped CD after CD,” he said. “Then we had to figure out which one was best. It was hard to choose among the ones we had because we did not know what would be enough to make it in.”
Rotolo will be in New York City Feb. 9 to 13. Although he will be practicing every day with the band and working with conductor Jeffrey Grogan, they will also have time to do a little sight-seeing in the Big Apple. The Honors Band, along with the Honors Orchestra and Honors Choir will then perform a special concert at the end of the week.
“I just enjoy everything about music,” he said. “I love that you can share your emotions through music and that it can speak to you. It allows you to express of your emotions. I could not imagine doing anything else.”
Rotolo has been playing the trumpet since the sixth grade. He said he remembers on “Try-It Night” as a fifth grader, looking at all of the instruments. The trumpet, he said, seemed interesting.
“I liked how it looked. It looked fun to play,” he said. “I have thought about trying other instruments in the past, but never switching to something else as my primary instrument. I love the trumpet.”
In addition to the concert band, Rotolo is a member of the Jaguar Pride Marching Band and the jazz band at Blue Springs South. He has also been selected to both the all-district band and jazz bands. He has a 4.2 grade point average and is taking several challenging classes this year, including two college classes and pre-AP calculus. He said it can be challenging to fit all of his commitments in each day, but he finds music is a way for him to stay grounded.
Johnny Rotolo is still in a little bit of shock about the venue he will be playing at in only a couple of weeks.
“It is kind of insane to think that I will be playing at Carnegie Hall,” said the junior at Blue Springs South High School. “A couple of people got to go last year, but I am still surprised that they chose me.”
Rotolo has been selected for the 2012 American High School Honors Performance Series at Carnegie Hall. He will be playing trumpet in the Honors Band, which is limited to the highest rated high school performers from throughout the United States and selected international schools.
Melissia Goff, Rotolo’s band director at Blue Springs South, nominated him for the recognition. He then had to prepare a recorded audition to send to the committee along with his application.
“One day, I just went into there and ripped CD after CD,” he said. “Then we had to figure out which one was best. It was hard to choose among the ones we had because we did not know what would be enough to make it in.”
Rotolo will be in New York City Feb. 9 to 13. Although he will be practicing every day with the band and working with conductor Jeffrey Grogan, they will also have time to do a little sight-seeing in the Big Apple. The Honors Band, along with the Honors Orchestra and Honors Choir will then perform a special concert at the end of the week.
“I just enjoy everything about music,” he said. “I love that you can share your emotions through music and that it can speak to you. It allows you to express of your emotions. I could not imagine doing anything else.”
Rotolo has been playing the trumpet since the sixth grade. He said he remembers on “Try-It Night” as a fifth grader, looking at all of the instruments. The trumpet, he said, seemed interesting.
“I liked how it looked. It looked fun to play,” he said. “I have thought about trying other instruments in the past, but never switching to something else as my primary instrument. I love the trumpet.”
In addition to the concert band, Rotolo is a member of the Jaguar Pride Marching Band and the jazz band at Blue Springs South. He has also been selected to both the all-district band and jazz bands. He has a 4.2 grade point average and is taking several challenging classes this year, including two college classes and pre-AP calculus. He said it can be challenging to fit all of his commitments in each day, but he finds music is a way for him to stay grounded.
“I try to practice at least 30 minutes every day. Sometimes I don’t get even that much in, or sometimes I can practice for hours. It just depends,” he said. “I like to do my homework for a while and then take a break to practice. I find that music gets me through doing my homework a lot better.”
John Rotolo, Johnny’s father, said he is excited to be able to see him perform in such a prestigious place as Carnegie Hall.
“He is one that we have never had to force to practice. He just does it on his own,” he said. “This will be a big experience for him to play in this kind of place. It is so well known and he will be able to play with a director who has some great talent.”
Rotolo, who received the music for the honors performance series last month, said it has been fun to play some more challenging material. He said he is looking forward to playing with students from throughout the United States and getting to learn from some talented conductors.
“Sometimes in high school, you don’t get really hard music, so it has be fun to be able to play more difficult music,” he said. “I have already gotten to know a few people through the series’ Facebook page, so that is neat. I like to learn about how their life is different from mine and what we have in common. I cannot wait to get there.”
