Log In


Reset Password
Music

From Durango to Carnegie Hall

DHS violinist selected for elite honors performance

Durango High School senior Nolan Reed’s passion for the violin has taken him from private instruction sessions in New Mexico, to youth camps across America and even to a summer academy in Portugal.

And in February, it will take him to the stage of Carnegie Hall.

The gifted violinist, who is concertmaster of both the San Juan Symphony Youth Orchestra and DHS Symphonic Orchestra, has been selected to perform with the Honors Orchestra in the 2015 High School Honors Performance Series this winter at the vaunted music venue.

The performance series will seat Reed among the highest-rated high school performers of North America.

Reed, an articulate and self-serious young man, doesn’t seem like the type to get overly emotional. Still, he admits in his own tempered way, hearing the news was a pretty big deal.

“I was elated, I guess,” Reed said.

Reed, the son of Ron Reed and Cindy Bonitz-Ryan, was invited to audition for the performance series this fall after attending the Honors Orchestra of America in Indianapolis last spring.

Auditioning was a bit of a hassle: Reed only had two weeks to practice two orchestral excerpts – he chose pieces by Mozart and a Brahms – and he was already neck-deep in college applications. But he wasn’t about to miss a chance to perform at the world-famous venue, he said.

“I decided to audition because it’s Carnegie Hall,” he said.

Reed was notified in early November that he made the cut. It’s a pretty notable achievement, especially considering that the program, according to a Honors Performance Series news release, annually processes more than 10,000 nominations under its three categories.

Reed will head to New York City in February for the five-day program. Along with sightseeing, he will study under master conductors before performing Feb. 22 in front of an audience that includes invited representatives from collegiate and professional music programs.

“Working with these conductors and performing at Carnegie Hall is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that these student musicians never forget,” Program Director Morgan Smith said in the release.

Reed started playing the violin in third grade, choosing the instrument based on its size and portability during an open house at Park Elementary School. What begun as one of many casual pursuits turned more serious in middle school after Reed had been taking private lessons for a couple years. One day, he said, he just resolved to be a violin player.

“I can’t point out any specific moment where that changed, but it was in seventh grade that I decided that was what I wanted to do,” he said.

He dove into private lessons, studied under former Music in the Mountains Conservancy Director Arkady Fomin for several years and ended up attending summer camps in places like California and Utah.

Today, Reed is a dedicated musician who practices three to five hours a day and studies under three teachers in a schedule that has him traveling regularly to Albuquerque.

Along with being the concertmaster – or leader of the first violin section – of the two youth orchestras in this region, Reed is also working toward his Eagle Scout certification with a project that entails creating a music program for special-education associated students at DHS.

His mom said Reed’s passion for the violin has been driven by him alone. She’s proud of his competence, work ethic and focus, she said.

“I’m very proud, obviously, of all my children,” Bonitz-Ryan said, referring to three other sons. “Music has affected (Nolan’s) life and all our lives. We’ve all grown from his participation in music. I think he’s the person he is today because of music. He’s mature, he’s responsible, he’s the master of his own destiny.”

Bonitz-Ryan also said the Durango community has been immensely supportive, creating a nurturing environment for the young musician to flourish in.

“I could not do what I do for my kids without the support of the community,” she said.

kklingsporn@durangoherald.com



Reader Comments