Have bass, will travel

Like many Warwick Valley High School seniors, Dylan Page plans to attend college after graduation. But not right away. Before beginning his college career at SUNY Oneonta, he will be traveling to Europe to play the bass with the American Music Abroad program.

In 2019, Page was attending Monroe-Woodbury High School when he auditioned for the summer music program. He was accepted, but then COVID-19 shut down the trip.

This spring, however, WVHS music teacher Elissa Maynard was contacted by Cornwall High School music teacher Anthony Ravinsky about Page. Ravinsky is one of the Choral Directors for the American Music Abroad Freedom Tour, which is finally happening during July and August.

Page’s parents found out about the trip months ago and were going to surprise him with the news, but he actually found out from Maynard.

“At first, I didn’t know what Ms. Maynard was talking about,” Page said. “Then she mentioned the trip to Europe, and I got really excited. I’ll be going to Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Czechoslovakia and Hungary.”

The program and its concerts attempt to bridge the gap between languages and cultures through music, allowing the participant and the audience to connect and communicate. Students are carefully selected on the basis of recommendations from their school directors and musical achievement demonstrated on audition recordings.

“Dylan is beyond deserving because of the amount of growth he’s made,” Maynard said. “I’m just so proud of him. He has really good rhythm, and he has just the passion and the heart behind his music. He’s also a great leader in his section. I’m going to miss him.”

Page started playing bass in fourth grade, but sometimes had a problem with practicing. Then he started taking lessons from Viktor Prizgintas, who helped him with auditions for all-county and eventually for the American Music Abroad program.

At WVHS, Page is a section leader in the Chamber Orchestra, made second chair in the Orange County Music Educators All-County Orchestra. He also plays with the band in the Jazz Ensemble and Wind Ensemble.

After he returns from Europe – and a trip to Argentina with his mother, Page plans to major in adolescent education with the goal of becoming a history teacher. He will also continue playing the bass.

“I visited the SUNY Oneonta bass professor in February, and I was really, really nervous,” he said. “But I think I left a good impression. I didn’t play that well, but I showed him that I was capable of playing and my technique wasn’t too bad.”

Page said he wants to become a teacher because he likes working with children. He helped his father coach soccer and coached recreation basketball in Warwick for the past two years. He also job-shadowed his eighth-grade history teacher a few months ago.