Kyle Perea is a true maestro. The Huntington High School senior is an exceptional musician and a gifted conductor. He loves music so much he plans to study it at the Manhattan School of Music and make it his lifelong career.
“I was accepted into Manhattan School of Music’s pre-college program for my senior year,” Mr. Perea said. “I wanted to experience what a private conservatory felt like with all of the students having one goal in mind: making music. It was one of the most amazing and intense experiences I could ever have had and I can only imagine what the college program is like. My goal as a musician for college is to gain at least a master’s degree in the double bass. Afterward I hope to delve into a career of conducting and musicality.”
Huntington senior Kyle Perea is headed to the Manhattan School of Music
Teaching is also a possibility as Mr. Perea hopes to eventually obtain a degree in education.
“But for now, I am getting my bachelor’s in bass performance,” he said. “I received $25,000 in scholarship money. I am very proud of that and I hope to work hard to gain more at the school.”
The teenager is very well regarded by Huntington’s music faculty and by the high school’s teaching corps in general. Mr. Perea is also popular with his classmates. He always has something kind and helpful to say and has a wonderful sense of humor.
“Huntington has taught me the value of a strong work ethic from the bright teachers that value hard work and effort in what you do,” Mr. Perea said. “Huntington has also taught me the values of having a passion for a certain interest and doing your best to invest time into that passion in order to be the best at what you can be, which in my case would be orchestral and music studies. I feel ready for the challenge of Manhattan School of Music since I am doing what I love and I have learned the value of having a good work ethic in order to achieve my goals.”
Mr. Perea has made many friends over the course of his time in Huntington UFSD. Among the closest are Joshua Silverstein, Josh Avidor, Michael Reed, Max Mittleman, Joseph Tonjes, Ryan Miller, Foster Sullivan, Gabe Moskovitch, Matthew Basil, Brendan Garcia and Grace Wildermuth.
“Aside from the music classes Huntington High School has to offer and their exceptionally amazing music teachers, a valuable teacher that I’ve taken two courses with is Mr. [Kenneth] Donovan,” Mr. Perea said. “His style of teaching is the most unique that I’ve seen. The amount of passion and knowledge he has of United States history and politics is unreal. That is where the best teachers come from, the amount of passion and knowledge they have and their ability to express it to students. Mr. Donovan teaching African American Politics, a government based senior elective, was the perfect decision anyone could’ve made. I respect him as a teacher and a person. He would have the perfect personality for a music teacher if he somehow got in that field.”
The senior’s advice to incoming ninth graders? “Be yourself,” Mr. Perea said. “Be inspired by other people, but don’t try to mimic their every action in a need to feel accepted. Be yourself and work hard towards being the best you can be.”
The teenager has developed many close relationships with teachers in addition to Mr. Donavan. Those faculty members include Lauren Desiderio, Gina Colica, James DiMeglio, Jason Giachetti and Amanda Scott. “They were the best mentors to help me around the high school and with being a better person,” Mr. Perea said.
The senior’s favorite high school activities have included participating in the chamber orchestra and Key Club and performance opportunities through the Tri-M Music Honor Societies.
“Huntington has a faculty that makes an effort to help students and know them on a personal level if they have trouble with something,” Mr. Perea said. “It works very much like a community rather than a hierarchy. I will probably miss the orchestra room the most. That room will probably give me the most nostalgia when I visit it again after graduating. Just being there to play music with friends is the best I could ask for at Huntington High School. I will always remember the community and the friendships I’ve made.”
As his time at Huntington High School winds down, Mr. Perea is getting excited about what lies ahead for him.
“Manhattan School of Music is one of the greats and I am so happy to have been accepted into it,” Mr. Perea said. “New York is the perfect hotspot for the amount of commerce and communication it has, especially with music. I will be working with students from all around the world with the same goals as I have and that’s what really inspires me about MSM.”
