This Kid Blows The House Down

Each week, Agoura Hills Patch will seek suggestions from readers for individual kids, youth groups, teens, and even sports teams that wow us with their accomplishments. We want to hear about these amazing children and teens and select one each week as the Patch Whiz Kid. 

This week's Whiz Kid is trumpet virtuoso Benjamin Zacuto.  He started playing trumpet in the middle of 5th grade. He joined the LCMS beginning band program in 6th grade, and participated in Matt McKagan's summer jazz band program going into 7th grade.  

Zacuto is a natural talent and earned a spot playing in the Jazz A band. He participated in Matt McKagan's summer program again last summer, and as an 8th grader, has earned the first chair spot in the Jazz A band. Zacuto also gets in extra licks by playing in the Jazz A Combo directed by Matt Finders, which meets early mornings just once a week.

He studies privately with Wayne Stitzer and recently started playing in the Agoura Hills/Las Virgenes/Westlake Village Community Concert Band which Matt McKagan also directs. Zacuto is hoping to be part of Matt Finders Summer Jazz Lab and will soon be auditioning for a spot in the Agoura High Jazz program.  

At the Heritage Music Festival in San Diego in March, the LCMS Jazz A Band took first place, and scored highest all around of any competitors at the festival. This month in Reno, at the Reno Jazz Festival, his band took first place among the Middle School bands, the Jazz A Combo also took first place among the Middle School combos. It was at the Reno Jazz Festival that Zacuto earned the distinction of being awarded the outstanding middle school trumpeter award.

Zacuto loves playing music and aspires to be a professional musician. He's fascinated by architecture, he loves to travel, he's looking forward to running cross country at AHS and he likes technology. Zacuto also enjoys musical theater, an activity with which he is actively involved. His favorite roles have been Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast, Winthrop in The Music Man, and most recently as Oliver Twist in Oliver. His favorite musician is Winston Marsalis.

Whiz Kid: Benjiman Zacuto

Grade: 8th Grade

School: Lindero Canyon Middle School

Accomplishment:  Outstanding Midddle School Trumpeter, Reno Jazz Festival

Key to Awesomeness:  Zacuto claims that "practicing is important."  But he continues, "in order excel in anything thing you need really good teachers."  Clearly, Zacuto has high esteem for McKagan. "That's the great thing about my school, I have a really great teacher and he's really good at what he does."