NEWS

Young Denville guitarist debuts at Carnegie Hall

Morris Catholic sophomore wins spot on famous stage.

William Westhoven
@WWesthoven
Morris Catholic high School sophomore and Denville resident Nicholette sosa, a talented classical guitarist, recently made her debut on the stage of Carnegie Hall in New York.

Nicolette Sosa had never heard the corny old joke — "How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall? Practice!" — until 11 years of study already had landed her on the iconic concert stage in New York.

The Morris Catholic High School sophomore, Denville resident and accomplished guitar player experienced what often is considered the thrill of a lifetime for any musician on Feb. 20 as the recipient of the 2015 Tri-State Certificate of Excellence for Level 2 Guitar in New Jersey from the Royal Conservatory of Music Development, As part of the award ceremony, Sosa was invited to perform a two-minute piece of her choice in front of an audience that included family and friends.

She professes a fondness for guitar heroes like Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix, but prefers the classical repertoire to classic rock, naming Andres Segovia as one inspiration. Her choice of song to perform at Carnegie Hall was "Ejercicio," by legendary Spanish guitarist Jose Ferrer.

"I always wanted to play an instrument and my parents were kind-of pushing me to play the piano," Sosa said. "I didn't want to play the piano because a lot of people do, and I wanted to take something unique. So I picked the guitar and it sounded amazing when I first listened to my teacher play. I was really inspired and I wanted to stick with it.'

Sosa, 15, started at age 4 by taking classes at a music school, but progressed to the point where she needed private lessons. A few years ago, she also began study in a program offered by the Royal Conservatory of Music Development, which schedules periodic assessments in theory and performance for its students,

"I took one of the assessments last July and I won the state award for my level," she said. "I won the Tri-State Award as well."

She learned of her award in December, but was only casually aware of the reputation of Carnegie Hall.

"I knew that it was a famous hall that a bunch of famous musicians had played in, and it was an honor to play there," she said,

Playing on the big stage with world-class acoustics proved up to the hype.

"It was amazing," she said. "It sounded amazing, everything travels really low. I was nervous, but I got through it. It was good."

The Sosa family celebrated later that day with dinner at a restaurant on the Hudson River waterfront in West New York.

The rising star is now immersed in preparation for the Level 3 assessment in May, but is not dreaming of a career playing guitar in famous halls,

"I want to go into pre-med," she said. "I've been really interested in orthopedic surgery, and I recently went on a field trip and saw a heart transplant. That was really interesting."

That means at least 10 more years of school, but Sosa is up for the challenge.

"I was thinking about (a music career) for a while but it's more of a hobby," she explained. "Not really a hobby, but I want to keep what I love separate from my profession. I don't want to grow out of loving my instrument. You know what I mean?"

Staff Writer William Westhoven: 973-917-9242; wwesthoven@GannettNJ.com.