Scholastic Arts Spotlight - 5/18/09

When you hear music like this at Brockport High School, chances are Jacob Kopcienski is playing.  When he's making music you can't help but listen.  "I think I've come a long way but I still have a lot to learn and there are a lot of great players out there that I really look up to," he says.   Jacob is a mainstay in everything from the Brockport High School Band, to the Eastman Youth Wind Ensemble.  This year he was selected to represent the school in the New York State Conference All State Music Festival.  "I really had a great experience," he says.  "I played with a lot of great people, met a lot of great people. It was one of the defining moments of my high school musical career, I'd say." "Jake is the consummate musician," says Brockport Band Director Andrew Stoker.  "I don't know anybody who's worked harder, who has played as many different kinds of music through his career. He's continually looking to improve his own performance, and therefore the rest of the band's program."   Next fall, Jacob will attend Bowling Green State University in Ohio.  He'll study music performance and education.   I'm hoping I'll be teaching at a college somewhere or performing just around the world," Jacob says.  "I don't know, I'm keeping my options open."   One day Jacob hopes to earn a doctorate in musical arts.  But with saxophone in tow, he's already mastering the notes he'll play to get there.