Bayshore Middle School Student Wins Prestigious Band Award

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Ethan Seidler, an eighth-grader at Bayshore Middle School in Middletown, was presented this February with the Richard B. Frankle Award.

This award is given to a single student — who plays a musical instrument — selected from across the state of New Jersey. It recognizes a student who has participated in a school ensemble for three consecutive years and has demonstrated consistency in striving for excellence in musicianship.

Ethan was chosen for the award because last year he tried out for the Bayshore Middle School band on the euphonium (a type of instrument). However, he did not qualify. Not to be deterred, he took advantage of the open call for tuba and made it!

This winter, Ethan came back to earn first chair in the euphonium section, said Bayshore Middle School band director Monica Alexandre.

The award was given to him at the All-Shore Band Concert, held at the Millstone Township Performing Arts Center, on February 4.

"Ethan is not only an accomplished musician, he is also a high honor roll student who serves regularly as an altar boy at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Highlands," she added. "He also works at the Kumon Math and Reading Center of Middletown as a student tutor and has raised money for the Plunging for ALS since 2016.