Meet our Graduating Seniors!

Brian Colquist

I have truly enjoyed my years at HMP.  In my time studying composition with Dr. Levesque, I was given great feedback on my work from both him and other supportive students in the room.  More importantly, I have created a foundation for my composition career.  This is all thanks to the education I received from all my fantastic teachers and thought-provoking classes.  The program has encouraged me to explore music in many different ways and continue my life as a musician and composer.  

Next year, I will be a junior at South Brunswick High School. I plan to continue studying music composition.

Navani Rachumallu

I’ve been a part of HMP for eight years now, and I can definitely say that the program has greatly improved my musicianship skills. I did not consider learning how to play jazz before HMP, but taking jazz classes and learning how to improvise has changed the way I think about music. Improvising has allowed me to create my own compositions and I would like to create more of my own music in college and after. Additionally, taking theory and ear training classes has allowed me to understand what I’m playing on a deeper level, and music history classes have allowed me to appreciate the classical pieces I play even more.

Through HMP I’ve been able to collaborate with other instrumentalists and vocalists through the program. Before I joined HMP I mostly played by myself at recitals, but performing with other musicians has turned out to be one of my favorite things to do. Thank you to all the teachers that taught me all these years at the program! You have truly changed my life.

I will be attending Princeton University this fall

Lauren Szeto

HMP has been an incredible experience and has taught me valuable lessons in many aspects of music through advanced study of theory, history, composition, conducting, jazz, improvisation, and performance. Entering HMP as a classically-trained violinist, I was immediately immersed in classes that pushed me out of my comfort zone and challenged me to appreciate topics that I hadn’t considered before. Through HMP, I formed bonds with my peers and teachers, who have been fantastic mentors. One of the things that I will forever be grateful to HMP for is the opportunity it gave me to discover my strong passion for jazz. In my jazz classes, I learned about the versatility and ever-changing nature of jazz and how to compose and play my own jazz tunes. My composition work, along with lessons from my other classes, helped me grow immensely as a musician and prepare me for my musical career.

I will be attending Rowan University in the fall.

Sahana Senthilkumar

To me, HMP was a community of exceptionally talented teachers and students. Teachers excelled at their areas of specialization, and students worked hard to excel at their instruments. Every single class or event that I attended in my three years at HMP taught me something new. I learned to connect with and listen to my partner as I played ensemble music in Chamber Music, to identify patterns in everyday sounds from Ear Training class, and to formulate harmonic progressions such that they accomplished the composer’s purpose in Harmony class. At Performance Classes and HMP workshops, I was always in a state of awe and admiration while listening to the passionate music played by my classmates. Becoming a part of the HMP community undoubtedly inspired me to grow as a musician and continue playing music to bring others joy for the rest of my life.

I will be attending Rutgers University – New Brunswick this fall