Kevin Natoli, a senior at Freehold Township High School, was selected to perform in the All-Eastern Honors Band, an honor bestowed upon the top 150 instrumentalists east of the Mississippi River. Natoli, who plays the trumpet, has previously been awarded top positions in auditions at the All Shore/MonmouthCounty, Regional and State levels.
Sponsored by the National Association for Music Education, Natoli will join 650 of the most musically talented high school students in the Eastern region of the United States to perform in the 2009 All-Eastern Honors Ensembles, consisting of concert band, symphony orchestra, mixed chorus and jazz ensembles. These students will perform for an audience of thousands on March 15 at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium for the Performing Arts in Providence, R.I.
With the assistance of Edward Gattsek, music teacher, Natoli is practicing challenging musical pieces that he will perform under the leadership of prominent conductors at this biennial event.
This is a significant accomplishment, noted Gattsek.
“In my 10 years in the Freehold Regional High School District, only two other students have been selected to this group and they were both vocalists,” Gattsek said. “This is the first time in the history of our school that an instrumentalist has earned such an honor.”