Artist of the Week: Sydney Stirpe
Growing up in Queens, Sydney Stirpe always appreciated her exposure to the arts and credits her love of music to her dad who exposed her to the classical genre.
Her family moved to Warwick when she was in ninth grade and she joined Warwick Valley High School’s Symphony Orchestra as a violinist. She is now a senior at WVHS and getting ready for whatever the future holds.
Sydney began playing in the third grade as part of the Link-Up program, which provides students in third through fifth grade with the opportunity to join an orchestra. Students in the program learn to sing and play an instrument, which culminates in a performance with a professional orchestra at Carnegie Hall.
“I performed pieces with the New York Philharmonic both vocally and instrumentally,” Sydney said. “It was really cool and then in the fourth grade I was given the opportunity to either do band or orchestra but I was drawn toward the violin. I was really excited about learning to read music and play alongside my peers.”
After moving to Warwick one of the first people she met was music teacher, Elissa Maynard. When Ms. Maynard met Sydney’s parents, her mom showed Ms. Maynard a video of Sydney performing in the fourth grade.
“I was kind of embarrassed,” Sydney said with a laugh. “But Ms. Maynard was really excited about getting me to play again. I honestly couldn’t believe it but during the first week of my freshman year I was loaned a school instrument and I was able to join the Symphony Orchestra.”
Ms. Maynard shared one of her favorite Sydney memories, which begins with the Stirpes’ arrival in Warwick.
“She didn’t really know anyone, but she found a family in the orchestra. She hadn’t played since she was a very little girl, and when she came back to playing the violin I remember hearing her practice everyday in the practice room at lunch. Sydney went from last chair 2nd violin in Symphony Orchestra to 2nd chair 1st violin in the Chamber Orchestra after a year,” Ms. Maynard shared. “This is a testament to the type of person she is. She’s an extraordinary musician and hard worker. When she puts her mind to something she does it above and beyond all expectations. I have absolutely adored teaching Sydney, both privately and in school, and feel honored to have been a part of her journey.”
Sydney definitely attributes her progress to hard work and consistent practicing, and appreciates the support she’s received from Ms. Maynard.
“I remember joining the Chamber Orchestra and being really excited to try out new difficulty levels. I give thanks to Ms. Maynard for really encouraging me along the way and helping me step out of my comfort zone and be the best that I can be.”
Sydney’s growth is evident through her participation in NYSSMA, which she participated in during her sophomore and junior years and received gold level. This year, she will also go on to participate in Orange County Music Educators Association competition and All-County where students must demonstrate their ability to read, interpret and play difficult pieces of music.
She is also an academically outstanding student as she is a member of the National Honor Society and has been on the honor roll multiple times. While music is Sydney’s passion, she is also a language connoisseur, fluent in Italian, French and English. Her French language skills earned her an award at last year’s WVHS 51st Annual Awards ceremony where she received the Outstanding Achievement & Ability in French University Award. She received the award because of her skill in the French language but also because of her desire to help others do their best as well.
“I wanted to perfect my French accent and I participated in class as often as I could because I really enjoyed it,” Sydney said. “Aside from my numerical scores in class, I really enjoyed being there and I think my teachers saw that.”
“My dad spoke a lot of Italian to me when I was young and a lot of my family is Italian. I learned French in school but I also consider music to be my fourth language,” Sydney said. “It’s a way that people express themselves and music has no boundaries so you can express yourself however you want.”
She is working towards the New York State Seal of Biliteracy, which she aims to complete by December. The project includes a verbal presentation, a written assignment and a video. She’ll be presenting on perfume production and the pros and cons surrounding different production methods.
“I love perfume so this is a really interesting topic for me,” Sydney said. “I’ll be talking about the quality of different perfumes and the intricate processes in producing them.”
She enjoys her Engineering 101 class taught by Pat Reiser and hopes to expand her studies through mechanical or biomedical engineering.
As Sydney reflected on her growth in music, language and her classes she offered a few pieces of advice to other students who may be on their own journey in developing their passions or figuring out what they love to do.
“Strength lies in differences,” Sydney said. “Not in similarities. You don’t want to compare your powers or your weaknesses and strengths to those of someone else because you want to be your own person. Through perseverance, you truly can achieve your dreams.”
