Exceptional Huntington Musicians
Win Honors
Huntington High School is filled with many talented students. Among them are 13 exceptional musicians who were recently cited as being among the best in the county and state.
These new honors are really not surprising when one ponders the long history of music education in the district, its tradition of excellence and the value the community places upon the performing arts.
Huntington High School's All-County honorees include orchestra members Jeffrey Sun (violin 1), Andrew Ku (cello), Matthew Beeby (trombone 2), Collin Richardson (trombone 1), Jesse Rigot (French horn 1) and Michael Marchetta (double bass); chorus members Brianne Bennett (soprano 2), Robert Folan (tenor 1), Alexa Fulton (alto 2), Anna Schiffmacher (soprano 2) and Joshua Stickell; and band members Francesca Gray (clarinet 2) and Kevin Solomowitz (bassoon 2).
students will perform during the All-County Festival hosted by Huntington High School on November 17-18. Honorees will participate in bands, orchestras and choruses along with similarly talented young musicians from other Suffolk school districts.
"We always have a standing room only crowd at this festival, as it is the only All-County Festival that has representatives from every high school in Suffolk County," said Joan R. Fretz, district director of fine and performing arts. "They love performing in our beautiful auditorium and always compliment us on the professionalism of our faculty and stage crew assistance."
Messrs. Sun and Ku were also recognized as All-State. Messrs. Richardson, Reigot and Solomowitz were tapped as All-State alternates. Huntington Superintendent James W. Polansky told the group they "should be genuinely proud of this accomplishment. It is abundantly clear that your effort, commitment and extraordinary talent have contributed to your success, as well as to the success of Huntington's music programs."
All-State honorees typically comprise most of the high school All-County Festival. "Our non-All-State students who were selected for the festival are extremely talented," Ms. Fretz said. "It is a big honor to be part of these ensembles."