East Meadow High School Student Wins Concerto Competition

An East Meadow High School student will be a featured soloist in the June 8 Long Island Youth Orchestra concert at the  Walt Whitman High School’s Performing Arts Center in Huntington Station at 2 p.m.

Pianist David LoNigro is among three winners of LIYO’s solo competition. He will perform the 1st movement of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Kaitlyn Shin will perform the 3rd movement of Saint-Saens Violin Concerto No. 3. Clarinetist Ethan Usoskin of Port Washington will perform the 1st movement of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto.

LIYO Music Director and Conductor Scott Dunn will conduct. In addition to the featured soloists, the concert will include Nicolai’s Overture to the Merry Wives of Windsor, Glazunov’s March, Op. 76 and Sibelius’ Finlandia.

LoNigro has been a member of the Long Island Youth Orchestra as a percussionist for five years.  He has been involved in music since he was six years old.  

He began his journey taking piano lessons with Rosa Cabral Karp, with whom he still studies today.  Her nurturing style, patience and wisdom opened his heart to classical music as well as other genres.  In the East Meadow Public Schools, David began learning percussion.  He quickly became adept with mallet and auxiliary percussion.  

David also studied percussion privately with Steve Blutman and soon became involved in LIYO and Nassau Suffolk Performing Arts where he did both concert band and wind symphony.  He also played with the percussion ensemble and jazz band for extracurricular enjoyment.  David will be graduating from East Meadow High School this year and in the fall of 2014 he will be attending Nassau Community College with the aspiration to transfer to Berkley School of Music for composing and writing scores for video games and movies.  David extends a special thanks to Mr. Dreiwitz, Dr. Deaver, and Mr. Dunn for “making LIYO such a wonderful experience,” according to a news release.

The Long Island Youth Orchestra, which was founded by Martin Dreiwitz in 1962, has nearly 100 outstanding talented teenage players representing nearly 40 Long Island communities from Nassau and Suffolk counties. The Long Island Youth Orchestra, which is in residence at LIU Post, rehearses weekly and presents a series of four concerts each season. Susan Deaver is LIYO's principal guest conductor and executive director.

Tickets priced at $15 for Adults and $10 for Students/Seniors will be available one hour prior to the concert in the lobby of of the Walt Whitman High School’s Performing Arts Center.  To reserve tickets in advance, please e-mail LongIslandYouthOrchestra@gmail.com For further information call (516) 299.3174, or visit the orchestra’s website at www.liyo.org