‘A contagious enthusiasm for music’

Warwick Valley Middle School seventh grader Jake Cosco enjoys playing the trumpet, but he also considers it to be serious business.

“Jake has a very thorough approach to studying his music,” said Ashley Head, Jake’s music teacher for the past three years. “He goes over all of the details - how does it sound, how it is counted, who has the melody, the harmony, what are the notes, what is the tempo? It is like a checklist. He is solid in his skill set and project based approach of how to break down the piece and then get it to a performance level.

“Jake has a contagious enthusiasm for music,” Head continued. “He was always looking forward to class and asked what we would be playing. It was inspiring to have a student with his enthusiasm and see the joy he had coming to class.”

‘The best ... I can possibly be’

Although this is the start of Jake’s fourth year playing the trumpet, the saxophone was originally his first choice when students tried out instruments at the end of third grade.

But when Jake tried to play the saxophone, he was unable to make a sound.

“Then I tried the trumpet and decided to stick with it because it seemed like a great instrument,” Jake said. “Playing the trumpet is fun, but I take it very seriously. One of my goals is to become the best trumpet player that I can possibly be.”

Jake, who has performed at two NYSSMA festivals, plans to continue playing the trumpet. He said it’s been a wonderful experience so far.

“This year has been going great,” Jake said. “We’ve had a couple of band meetings, and I have my first lesson coming up soon. So I’m really excited for that.”

Leading and contributing

Peter VanDeWater, the seventh- and eighth-grade band director, said Jake has shown great leadership from Day One of band this year.

“He has a maturity and sense of humor that his peers look up to and helps to set the tone for the band,” VanDeWater said. “As a trumpet player, I know he will bring this leadership musically and be a great contributor to the ensemble.”

Jake is also an outstanding student, making the high honor roll for all four marking periods last year. He is currently playing AAU basketball and club lacrosse and plans to try out for the modified teams in both sports.