Natasha Stollmack Loves
Huntington Music
Natasha Stollmack has gained the admiration of the entire Huntington High School community. As she sprints toward graduation, the teenager is hitting every high note in a whirlwind display of her considerable talents.
The senior is engaged in a music education internship, recently conducted the junior band like a professional, plays piano and percussion, was a drum major with the marching band, is the president of the Tri-M music honor society and has done a sterling job of organizing events and speaking to younger students about the benefits of the music program.
"Natasha is an exceptional young woman," said Brian Stellato, a Huntington High School music teacher. "She is always perfectly in control of every situation she finds herself in."
Ms. Stollmack has been a member of the high school wind ensemble since her sophomore year, jazz band since freshman year and the pit orchestra for school musicals for three years. She's in her second year as co-editor-in-chief of the school newspaper, The Dispatch and is also a member of the English and Italian honor societies.
Music Education Internship
The teenager's music education internship has been comprised of two parts: She worked with the junior symphonic band (freshmen and sophomores) during the first semester, conducting the Frank Ticheli piece "Joy Revisited" at the mid-winter concert as her final project. The second semester has the senior working in the morning at J. Taylor Middle School with teacher Frank Battista's wind ensemble and the school's seventh grade band.
"As my music education intern these least several months, Natasha developed a sense of comfort standing in front of the 90 member junior symphonic band," Mr. Stellato said. "She successfully prepared a selection for our mid-winter concert, conducting the piece with more musicality and accuracy than most college student teachers I've seen."
As far as college is concerned, Ms. Stollmack jokes that she's "so close I can almost taste it!" She's applied to the Univ. of Delaware, Univ. of Massachusetts at Amherst, Indiana Univ. at Bloomington (Jacobs School of Music), Univ. of Michigan and Ithaca College.
"I auditioned for all of them between December and January and tried to keep an open mind, but from the beginning it's really been between UMass and Delaware," she said. "Their music programs are very similar and I really dig the piano and percussion professors from both schools. I'm just happy that my auditions are done with."
Her Huntington friends and supporters are convinced that Ms. Stollmack is going to "make it." "She's such a great kid," Mr. Stellato said.
Immersed in Music
The senior has "immersed" herself in Huntington High School's music program. "Our district truly has such a fine and developed music department and I shudder to think about what will become of Huntington's musical legacy due to the economic problems that our state is trying to solve," she said. "I've been urging kids to come to board meetings, write letters, just get involved any way they can and show how much these ensembles and teachers mean to us. As for myself, I can honestly say that without all of the experiences and guidance that I've received from the music department, I would not at all be the person I am today."
"Natasha has been an outstanding student leader," Mr. Stellato said. "She leads by example, constantly keeping her energy level up and her attitude positive. She really is so impressive. She brightens up every room she walks into, bringing a great deal of passion to everything that she does."
Drum Major Academy
The teenager's most memorable high school experiences revolve around the Blue Devil marching band. "Being a drum major was the best experience of my life," Ms. Stollmack said. "I learned an incredible amount in a short period of time. Attending Drum Major Academy at the Univ. of Massachusetts over the summer was a life-changing experience. DMA is a camp geared towards student leaders in band programs, and it was led by UMass' incredible incredible marching band director George N. Parks.
Ms. Stollmack and fellow drum majors, Ken Stropoli and Sean Harkins and field major Anne Scott, quickly took a liking to Mr. Parks during the week they worked together at the camp. The group promised to keep in touch with him throughout their competitive season.
"Out of the 300-something kids that were there, he personally came up to me and told me that I had the 'best smile of the summer' and that he looked for my face during his presentations," Ms. Stollmack said.
With warm memories of the relationship they developed with the legendary college marching band leader still fresh in their minds, the Huntington quartet was jolted during the opening weeks of school.
"In mid-September, Mr. Stellato called us all down in the morning and shared with us the awful news of his passing," Ms. Stollmack said about how the group learned about the sudden fatal heart attack that struck down the 57 year-old Mr. Parks.
"We were all shocked and devastated," Ms. Stollmack said. "We treated the rest of the season sort of as a tribute to him. I arranged a surprise performance of the song 'My Way,' which is the piece that UMass' marching band shows always end with. The kids played it at the home show and it brought Mr. Stellato and the four of us to tears. It was one of my proudest moment of the season, seeing us all come together like that, most of the kids not even knowing who this man was. But they did it 'with pride.' That phrase that we use now is because of Parks. At the Carrier Dome, we had the most amazing performance in all of my years in the program. The four of us could barely keep our composure up on the podiums! I couldn't have dreamed of a better group than this one. I love them all so much."
Stellato and Giachetti
The Blue Devil marching band is directed by Mr. Stellato and fellow high school music teacher Jason Giachetti. The pair has loomed large in Ms. Stollmack's life.
"Mr. Stellato and Mr. Giachetti have been my mentors throughout high school," she said. "The two of them are a true dynamic duo. Mr. Stellato and I have become really close. He is such an inspiration to me, not only from a music education perspective but also as a person. He thinks he's getting rid of me next year when I go to college, but if there's one person I know I will stay in touch with from high school it's him."
Mr. Giachetti also earned high praise. "Mr. G is the number one reason I'm even going to college," Ms. Stollmack said. "For the degree program that I'm pursuing (instrumental music education), I needed to demonstrate proficiency on an instrument other than piano. He stayed with me after school for two months to help me prepare for my college percussion auditions."
When the senior tips her hat to the two music teachers she isn't merely going through the motions. "Without the two of them, my future would be looking pretty dull," Ms. Stollmack said. "I've tried to do some nice things for them over the years, a few baked goods here and there, but I'm well aware that no favor could act as an equivalent to the knowledge and drive they have given me, and I will forever be in debt to them."
Ms. Stollmack is closely associated with Huntington's music program, and rightly so. But, she protests, "I'm not just a music girl!" She's a multi-dimensional, multi-talented young woman.
The Dispatch
The Dispatch has played a major role in Ms. Stollmack's high school life. She's co-editor-in-chief along with classmate Carolyn Fante. The pair works closely with faculty advisor James Graber. "The position is super-demanding but equally as rewarding," she said.
"Sometimes I pity Mr. Graber for all of the theatrics and complaints I send his way during the grueling process of coming out with an issue, but hopefully he knows that deep down I value and respect his advice and guidance," Ms. Stollmack said. "He taught my favorite class, AP U.S. History from junior year, back when he liked me more. Now I just frustrate the heck out of him, but I still think very highly of him even though I fail to show it most of the time." The senior can sometimes display a wicked sense of humor as those last two sentences show.
When she walks off into Huntington history in late June, Ms. Stollmack will leave behind a legacy that will be hard to match.