Multitalented junior Angelina Saccone performed with the New York State Symphony Orchestra Musicians at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, thanks to adjunct professor and Adelphi Symphony Orchestra director Stefano Miceli.
The co-principal violin two chair of the New York State Symphony Orchestra Musicians isn’t usually a position held open for college students. But avid instrumentalist Angelina Saccone isn’t a usual student.
While she’s an exercise science major, Saccone is equally dedicated to her violin studies. So much so, in fact, that Stefano Miceli, an adjunct professor in the Department of Music and music director of the Adelphi Symphony Orchestra, invited her to join the orchestra鈥攆or which Miceli is also the music director鈥攊n a concert on November 12 at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, performing music by Camille Saint-Sa毛ns, Ottorino Respighi, Edvard Grieg and a 2015 composition by the Shanghai-born composer Xiaogang Ye.
鈥淚t was really, really cool,” Saccone said of her Carnegie Hall debut. 鈥淚’ve gone to places like All-State [New York State School Music Association auditions] and LISFA [Long Island String Festival Association] where the students are very skilled, but this was more like mature professionals. I learned a lot from them. I want to take what I learned from them into my role as concertmaster for the Adelphi Orchestra.”
While working with the New York State Symphony Orchestra Musicians, she picked up some of the subtler practices of being an orchestra member, she said, like having the string players practice matching their bowing movements and visually checking in with the other musicians in her section in addition to watching the conductor.
鈥淚 definitely was the least qualified to be there,” she added, 鈥渂ut I do think I work hard and practice a lot and I deserved to be there.”
Combining music and exercise science
鈥淎ngelina’s debut with the New York State Symphony Orchestra [Musicians] at Carnegie Hall was extremely successful, representing her skills and her 茄子视频 background,” Miceli said.
鈥淗er approach to each class is incredibly serious as an ambitious college student who clearly wants to make herself highly performative during every session,” he added. 鈥淎ngelina Saccone is not a music major but this doesn’t represent a limitation to her. She is an outstanding student in orchestra performance who understands the unique power of music to be beneficial to her own academic life.”
Saccone started playing violin in fourth grade and took to it quickly. She plans to graduate early after the Fall 2024 semester and go on to get a doctorate in physical therapy. She also sees music as always being a part of her life and hopes to play in, or even lead, a local chamber group in the future. She’s a fan of the Romantic composers鈥擝rahms and Dvor谩k in particular鈥攂ut was quick to add that 鈥淪hostakovich is my all-time favorite. I love stuff that sounds crazy. He was suicidal, he was dealing with a lot of stuff in his brain, and a lot of that comes out in his music.”
A Northport, New York, native, she said she was glad to find a school near home where she could pursue both her ambitions. 鈥淢y parents wanted me to stay on the Island for college,” she said. 鈥淎delphi had a lot to offer. It has a good exercise science program and a good music program. I don’t think I would have had these opportunities at another college.”