Herricks High School senior Keneil Soni and junior Carolyn Lau have been invited to participate in the 2022 National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA), a prestigious national program by Carnegie Hall.

Chosen through a rigorous audition process from among top musicians ages 16-19 nationwide, Soni is one of only seven horn players and Lau is one of only four flautists accepted. They are the first students from Nassau County ever to be selected into NYO-USA for their respective instruments.

Both students are accomplished musicians who currently attend Juilliard Pre-College. Soni studies horn under Professor Javier Gandara and is the co-principal horn of the Juilliard Pre-College Orchestra. He was a member of the National Youth Orchestra 2 (a feeder program of NYO-USA for musicians ages 14-17) during the summers of 2019 and 2020 and was also the principal horn in the NAfME All-National Symphony Orchestra this winter.

Lau studies flute under Professor Carol Wincenc and has served as principal/co-principal flute with several orchestras, including the Juilliard Pre-College Symphony and Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of New York Principal Orchestra with which she soloed as their concerto competition winner. She is a two-time National YoungArts Classical Music award winner and has also won top prizes in other music competitions.

NYO-USA is a fully-endowed orchestral program for highly dedicated young musicians where members have the opportunity to serve as cultural ambassadors for the United States while traveling and performing abroad. Participants first take part in a two-week training residency at Purchase College, SUNY, led by world-renowned faculty and guest artists. This summer, the Herricks students will join the orchestra’s tour of Europe under the direction of Maestro Daniel Harding. The tour will include concerts in Amsterdam, Berlin, and Lucerne following a Carnegie Hall performance.