May 11, 2021 -- Every year, the Instrumental Music Department (IMD) of Cleveland Heights High School has traditionally featured outstanding seniors who compete for the opportunity to play a solo piece with either the Heights High Symphony or Symphonic Winds. However, because in-person, indoor concerts with large groups have not been possible to hold during the 2020-2021 school year, IMD Directors Brett Baker and Daniel Heim offered the opportunity for the Class of 2021 to submit individual video recorded performances for this year. Mr. Baker and Mr. Heim hoped this substitute method would still allow for distinguished senior instrumentalists and their performances to be celebrated on the district website.

The candidate videos were adjudicated directly after Spring Break with the help of Mr. Andrew Bennekamper, and the IMD is excited to now present the winning videos of four select seniors: Franco Casucci (trombone), Katrina Palmer (viola), Zelda Thayer-Hansen (violin), and Marissa Veccia (‘cello). Each one will be released during a separate week leading up to graduation.

Franco Casucci is a trombonist and senior at Cleveland Heights High School. He first began playing the trombone in the 4th grade, through the Heights elementary school music program.  Over time his interest and enjoyment of music grew stronger, and he now performs in a number of extracurricular groups, including the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra and Kaboom Collective, along with the Heights High School Symphonic Winds and Jazz Ensemble. He would like to thank his private trombone instructor Dave Mitchell for all his time and teaching, his former private instructor Paul Hungerford for first encouraging him to develop his talent, his parents for their total support and encouragement, and Heights Band Director Brett Baker for pushing him to participate in this competition and other playing opportunities over the years. Thank you Cleveland Heights!

"Frankie is a very talented and versatile musician with a deep understanding of music and the structure behind it," says Mr. Baker. "He has been a leading player here at the high school for all of his years."