Two Hen Hud Students Are among Top Musicians in the Northeast

Hendrick Hudson High School Junior Cassandra Cavalieri, bassoon, and Senior Jodi Scharf, trombone, just returned from the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) Eastern Division Conference in Providence, Rhode Island, where they were each accepted into one of the honors ensembles -- Jodi in the symphonic band and Cassandra the symphony orchestra. The Eastern Division Conference is held every two years and is hosted by a local state Music Education Association.

The best musicians from ten northeast states are invited to participate in these highly competitive ensembles, making both Jodi and Cassandra among the 30 or so best student musicians on their instrument in the Northeast and among the top in the entire country! In fact, Cassandra won the coveted principal bassoon chair in the symphony orchestra which rates her as the top high school bassoonist in the Northeast.

Both musicians worked from Thursday through Saturday, with a performance on Sunday, averaging about seven hours of rehearsal a day with some of the country’s top collegiate and youth group wind band and symphony orchestra conductors. “Listening to a group, any group, where each individual plays at such a high level is so powerful it can’t be described” said Benjamin Acrish, Band director at HHHS. “And to think these are our kids, it’s truly amazing! I’m so proud of these girls, they work so hard.”

Photo caption: Cassandra Cavalieri, bassoon, and Jodi Scharf, trombone. Photo credit: Isabel Shelly.