Music Department

If you see someone carrying a bass guitar around campus, tinkering with the wiring on their own 6-output electric guitar, running rehearsals for any number of student groups, printing programs until after the cleaning crew has left at night, or coming to school a few minutes into first period after pulling one of many all-nighters to ensure that had all of the musical ideas out of his head ... you have seen Luca Williams. Luca stood out on stage this year not only for his spontaneous leg kicks coordinated with the original music during the rock opera that he composed, but also for his exceptional musicianship and passion while creating. Seemingly everywhere at once this year, Luca could be found mixing and mastering musical recordings from the Rock Opera (now available on iTunes and Spotify) in the recording studio, performing with the orchestra and jazz band, arranging music for a senior band for Blue White Day, or simply composing in IB music whenever he had a chance. An ambitious and driven musician, the Music Department proudly awards the Love of Learning Award for Music to Luca Williams.

The twelfth-grade Academic Excellence Award for Music goes to a student who, according to her theory teacher, is a committed musician who took the time to understand the details of every aspect of harmony and helped others understand the concepts whenever asked. In her jazz course, she not only learned all of her written drum parts with precision, but took it upon herself to study and analyze original source recordings in order to learn exactly how certain intricate grooves should be played. Sydney Rodriguez-Kong is not only a fantastic musician, but also a true jazz scholar in the sense that she pursues the tradition by learning from the greats who have come before her. One example of this is when the jazz band was preparing for the winter concert with a complicated and ambitious piece that had no sheet music. Sydney listened to the track, practiced at home, and then came to class with an entire section of polyrhythmic drum feels completely memorized and flawlessly played the complex grooves as though they were completely natural to her. She is a fearless musician who always works to make the ensemble sound its best and the Music Department proudly presents Sydney Rodriguez-Kong with the Academic Excellence Award for Music.