Our Scholastic Arts Spotlight shines on Kieran Hanlon of Canandaiga Academy
By: Maureen McGuire
Updated: November 8, 2007
Kieran Hanlon knows his way around the electric bass. It's one of his favorite instruments, second only to the violin.When Kieran was four years old, his parents took him to a festival, and Kieran couldn't take his eyes off the fiddle band.
"I was mesmerized by that entirely," he says. My parents said I wouldn't leave. I was just really into that music. So that's how I started taking violin lessons." Kieran's so accomplished on the violin, he plays in the prestigious Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. "I love the RPYO," he says.
Kieran also takes lessons at the Hochstein School of Music and Dance, and plays in the Compass Quartet. "Rochester is a wonderful musical city," he says. "Being right there with world class musicians right out my back door, it's just wonderful." Kieran's teachers at Canandaigua Academy say he's well on his way to a career in music. "He has a tremendous passion for it and love for it and i'm sure he'll pursue it and give it his all and he's going to make a difference in a lot of people's lives," says Vocal Director Amy Story. Kieran's won honors for violin, bass and voice.
He was chosen to sing in both the All State Mixed Choir and the All Eastern Honor Choir. He will focus on the violin in college, and his career goal is to play in a professional orchestra.
