MORRIS COUNTY — Students from Parsippany, Budd Lake, and Morristown schools were honored as Mayo Performing Arts Center’s March 2023 Music Students of the Month – Outstanding Jazz Musicians — before the Friday, March 3 performance by Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis.
Students were nominated by their teachers and were chosen by the Theatre’s Education Department based on their commitment to excellence in the performing arts. The students were honored on stage before the concert and had an opportunity to meet Wynton Marsalis. The Theatre will honor a group of students every month throughout the season and invites area teachers to nominate students for this honor.
The Walter F. and Alice Gorham Foundation support the 2022-2023 Music Student of the Month program.
About the March Music Students of the Month
Luca Anello-Fiorina: Grade 8, Pearl R. Miller School; Parsippany; Nominated by Brian Scanlon
Luca is a hardworking, dedicated young musician. He works very independently and sets very high standards for himself. With that, Luca is also a constant seeker of advice and constructive criticism. Luca has stood out in our Middle School since he arrived in 6th grade. Luca adds his talents to our school’s honor groups, including our Jazz-Rock Ensemble. As a drum-set player, Luca has taken on some very tricky tasks in a very methodical manner. It is a pleasure to see how motivated he is to accomplish his goals with the maturity of a seasoned musician at such a young age.
Roshan Matrubai: Grade 8, Brooklawn Middle School; Parsippany; Nominated by Joseph Stella
Roshan is an 8th-grade clarinetist/bass clarinetist who has grown tremendously in the concert band during the past two years, making him one of our top players. In addition to being a great musician, he is kind, respectful, and a joy to teach. He can often be found around the band room practicing during his free time at lunch. This year, he has also taken on the challenge of learning to play the tenor saxophone for our school’s jazz band. He has quickly excelled at the tenor sax, becoming the lead tenor in the jazz band with a lengthy solo.
Neil Patel: Grade 11, Parsippany High School; Parsippany; Nominated by Gregory Dalakian
Neil has been our lead Alto Sax player in the PHS Jazz Ensemble for the past two years. He has done amazing work improving his jazz sound and improvisation skills. He is always willing to volunteer and play solos on any jazz chart and inspires others to work hard and improve their jazz playing. In addition to being a dedicated jazz musician, Neil is an aspiring music producer and composer.
Alex Marichal; Grade 9, Mount Olive High School; Budd Lake; Nominated by Darrell Hendricks
Alex is a hard-working freshman that LOVES listening and playing jazz music. He is a student who chooses to transcribe jazz solos and practice trombones and has grown much over the last year.
Jayden Oakley: Grade 8, Frelinghuysen Middle School; Morristown; Nominated by Ariel Ocasio
Jayden has shown a true passion for jazz and improvisation in just one year. Although he is an outstanding music student, generally speaking, he has really taken to jazz and has become one of the more inspiring soloists in our program. He elevates the performance of all his peers and continues to impress me, my parents, and students alike.
Andrew Pavkovitch: Grade 7, Mount Olive Middle School; Budd Lake; Nominated by Ken Adessa
Andrew loves jazz. He loves great jazz artists. He listens, truly listens, and works hard at emulation. He works hard at style and improv, and his rhythm is fantastic. He sits lead alto in our middle school jazz band in Mount Olive, and when we went to Rowan University for a jazz festival, all the clinicians wanted to know, “who’s that kid on alto?!”
Anthony Samms: Grade 12, Morristown High School; Morristown; Nominated by Timothy Beadle
Anthony has been a rock-solid member of the Morristown Spectrum Jazz Ensemble since he was a freshman. Not only is he an outstanding piano player, he also plays the trumpet. Anthony is a strong music reader but has an uncanny ability to listen to music and incorporate it into his performance. Whether mimicking a phrase played by Count Basie or learning Chick Corea’s Spain solo by ear, he has always used his musical talent to add to the professionalism and performance of the jazz ensemble at Morristown High School.
