Sayville High School Senior

Nick Burkel Accomplishes  A FIRST For A Sayville STRING Orchestral Student

As one of the 673 students from 49 states and territories, Sayville High School Senior Nicolas Burkel has been selected to perform in the All-National Honor Ensembles Concert and will showcase his symphony orchestral talents on the cello in a gala concert at world-famous Grand Ole Opry House stage, Nashville, Tennessee on October 28.

During the 2014-15 school year, talented music students across the United States and overseas in military-base schools practiced with dedication to gain a chair or part in their local, district, and state music honor ensembles. And of those most elite high school musicians who were accepted to their district or All-State music ensembles, 673 of them—the “best of the best”—were selected for the National Association for Music Education’s (NAFME) 2015 All-National Honor Ensembles.

Taken from National Association for Music website

There  have been a number of accolades that Nick has earned during his High School career. At the age of 16, Nick won First Place in a concert competition for which he received a scholarship and an invitation to perform at Carnegie Hall with the New York Concerti-Sinfoietta Orchestra. At Carnegie, Nick’s solo performance of the First Movement of the Saint-Saens Cello Concerto No. 1 garnered him a tremendous ovation from the audience. Reviews of his performance were equally outstanding. The Epoch Times wrote: “Burkel's performance was distinguished by incendiary temperament, well-articulated bowings... His exuberant approach, with double stops blessedly in tune, evidenced a thorough command of his instrument.”

With such great accomplishments in his past, it is no surprise that Nick’s present continues to win him acclaim. Sayville School District extends congratulations to Nick, along with his music Teacher Ari Kramer, for ranking high among these exceptional young musicians.