Learning
Meet the students who make up the Student Producers Committee.
Name: Halleh Balch
Age: 17
School: The Brearley School
Halleh Balch is a senior at The Brearley School in New York. She is the head of her school orchestra, a member of the New York Youth Symphony Orchestra, and currently studies violin with Deborah Buck of the Lark Chamber Artists. Though Halleh grew up studying classical music, she listens to more Coletrane than Bach and has developed an interest in a wide variety of musical styles. Halleh put this interest into practice in the fifth grade when she decided to pick up the trombone. At the time, the instrument case was an inch taller than she was. Halleh has been a member of the Student Producers since 2005, is currently a co-president, and is in complete denial that this is her last year with the Student Producers.
Name: Shrivatsa Battatreya
Age: 17
School: Trinity School
Srivatsa Dattatreya is a senior at the Trinity School in Manhattan. He was interested in music at any early age and pursued both a performance and creative path in it. He played violin for 6 years and continues to play guitar, piano, drums, and bamboo flute in his spare time. His main concentration in music however is in the field of musical composition. He has composed music for 6 years and continues to do so. He believes that it will be a fantastic and exiting year with the Student Producers.
Name: Alex Ciccone
Age: 16
School: Regis High School
Alex Ciccone is a junior at Regis High School where he enjoys studying history and Latin. At the age of nine, he began studying cello at the Third Street Music School Settlement with Sibylle Johner. Alex currently studies with Astrid Schween of the LARK Quartet and participates in New York Youth Symphony’s Orchestra and chamber music programs. From 2003-2005, Alex attended Kinhaven Music School in the rolling hills of Weston, Vermont. During the summer of 2006 at the Sewanee Summer Music Festival, he spent five weeks learning the Brahms Piano Quintet in F minor and Shostakovich String Quartet No. 8, in addition to other large orchestral works. Aside from all of his musical activities, Alex enjoys cooking, watching movies, going to Yankees games, playing poker, and eating sushi. This is Alex’s second year with the Student Producers and he is down right delighted to be a part of such an upstanding group of youths.
Name: Holly Druckman
Age: 17
School: Tappan Zee High School
Holly has been a devout fan of classical music for as long as she would like to remember. With two musical parents, it was inevitable that she should learn to play the piano at age five. However, she dropped it (figuratively, of course) when she picked up the flute. Holly has been playing the flute now for almost ten years, and has been studying at the Preparatory Division of the Mannes College of Music for the past three years. More than anything, she loves to talk about music. Other interests include music composition, intelligent conversation, interesting books, and good coffee. This is Holly’s first year with the Student Producers of the CMS.
Name: Anteo Fabris
Age: 16
School: LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts
Anteo is a junior at LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts. He plays the trumpet and has been playing music since he was a small child. Anteo started on the drums after having played the violin for a year, which was a big mistake. He also picked up the guitar, but then settled into playing the trumpet. He is now serious about music and wants to enter musical engineering or management. Anteo really likes to compose and he has written a few decent works for piano, trumpet, and brass ensembles. He now attends the Mannes Colelge Preparatory Division on Saturdays where he plays in various ensembles and orchestra. Besides playing music, Anteo likes to hang out, naturally. He listens to a wide variety of music, from classical to punkrock. His favorite band is Lagwagon. You should check them out.
Name: Martin Jacobs
Age: 14
School: Hunter College High School
After attending last year’s Unconventional Concerts, Martin was very excited at the prospect of joining the Student Producers; to meet new musicians, be part of a great group, and gain experience in real world concert production. Martin started piano lessons when he was 3 ½ years old. He currently studies at Third Street Music School with Mary Jo Pagano, who has been his teacher since kindergarten. Martin enjoys playing chamber music and is active in the chamber music program at Third Street. He has attended Kinhaven Music School in Vermont for each of the past 5 summers. While practice and school-work leave little free time, Marty also enjoys time with friends, cycling, bowling, travel, and the NY Yankees. Martin is in 9th Grade at Hunter College High School.
Name: Jacob Paul
Age: 17
School: White Plains Senior High School
For much of Jacob’s young life, the term “classical music” brought to mind the horrors of being forced to practice the piano – a chore he was, to put it mildly, less than fond of. However, when Jacob entered the fourth grade, a new instrument was put in his hands, the trumpet. Jacob soon fell in love with the trumpet and by the seventh grade, he was enrolled as the youngest trumpet student at Juilliard Pre-College. Since then, he has buried the hatchet with the piano and plays trumpet in both classical and jazz ensembles. Jacob also highly enjoys Woody Allen movies though…He hopes that music will play a role in some way or other in his future, and is excited to be a part of the Student Producers.
Name: Jane Tandler
Age: 17
School: Trinity School
Jane Tandler is in her 2nd year as a member of the Student Producers of CMS. She plays the clarinet, and has done so for the past 7 years. She has also played the piano, the violin, the recorder, and the kalimba, but has subsequently decided that string instruments hate her, and the recorder is too small. According to her, there are no problems with the kalimba. She studied at the Mannes Prepatory Program on Saturdays for two years, and attended the Trinity School Mondays through Fridays for four years. She knows that this year with the Student Producers will be fabulous, as usual.
Name: Matt Whitaker
Age: 17
School: The Collegiate School
Matt Whitaker is a senior at Collegiate School in Manhattan, where he enjoys taking derivatives and naps in the Nurse’s Office. This year, Matt begins his fourteenth (yes, fourteenth) year of lessons in the Preparatory Division of Mannes College, studying French Horn, piano, and trumpet. At Mannes, he plays the horn in a wind quintet and in the Philharmonic Orchestra. He also sings and dances for Brearley when no boys audition for their musicals. In his spare time, Matt enjoys listening to jazz tunes, watching U.S. Open tennis and eating potato latkes, which are especially delicious with applesauce. This summer, Matt worked as an intern for the Education Department at the Chamber Music Society. He has been a member of the Student Producers since 2005 and is currently a co-president. Matt has truly loved each moment working on the committee, and looks forward to his final year producing Unconventional Concerts.
Name: Shelby Yamin
Age: 17
School: Tappan Zee High School
As long as she can remember, Shelby has been connected to music. She chose to play the violin at an early age (she wasn’t even three years old yet!) and loves it more every day. Although Shelby wishes to become a classical musician, Shelby also plays the electric violin and explores many different types of music. In addition to her devotion to music, she is a vegetarian who loves animals, especially her adorable Wheaton Terrier named Theo.