Reviewed by: Caleb Turrentine
Tuscaloosa student selected to play in prestigious ensemble at Carnegie Hall
Reading time: 2 minutes
15 year-old Maxwell Morgan was one of 300 high school musicians selected to perform at Carnegie Hall on Feb. 8. From that elite group, he earned a spot in the top ensemble of just 87 students.
The sophomore at Northridge High School is the first student from NHS to receive the honor and second from Tuscaloosa City Schools, according to the school system
Keep reading to learn more about Morgan + his experience on the big stage.
Meet Maxwell Morgan
Morgan, who began playing the trumpet in the sixth grade, said the audition process lasted the greater part of last year.
Long before his departure to New York, Morgan recounts the long hours of practice and preparation that set him up for success.
“From about a month before, I was practicing constantly. There were three pieces and I would usually rotate looking at one deeply everyday.”
Maxwell Morgan
The rehearsal process only intensified once in New York. Rehearsals were divided into three-hour-blocks with a lunch break and sight-seeing interspliced between them.
Aside from the musicality of it all, Morgan said one of the best moments of the experience was seeing a snow-dusted Central Park.
The orchestra performed challenging classical works, including selections from “Swan Lake” and the “Ruslan and Ludmila” overture.
Morgan recalls that a highlight of the experience was performing a piece by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, the first composer to conduct at Carnegie Hall.
“It was really cool being in the same venue as Tchaikovsky and Gershwin and Bernstein and even like music artists like Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong and all the greats, I just felt really cool playing in the same place.”
Maxwell Morgan
Now, Morgan can add his own name to the list of musicians that have graced the stage of Carnegie Hall.
Following graduation, Morgan plans on majoring in accounting. But he assured us he plans to continue musical performance as either a double major or a minor.
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