BY JOE SCOTCHIE
Kevin Sherwin is a Roslyn native and a graduate of both Roslyn High School and Yale University. Last Tuesday, this resident of New Haven, CT, traveled to New York City to reunited with some old friends, while performing at the YoungArts New York Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
At the event, Sherwin both played an acoustic guitar solo and conducted other performances.
“The show was amazing,” Sherwin told The Roslyn News, while relaxing at home in Roslyn the day after the big event. “It was an interdisciplinary show with dancers and music. It came out really great. The whole gala event was a real success.”
Sherwin has been playing classical guitar since the tender age of seven. At Roslyn High School, he began perfecting his craft, working with his teacher, Michael Coffey. Sherwin continued playing, he also began conducting. Also at Roslyn High, Sherwin applied for and received, an award from the YoungArts program, which allowed him to go to Manhattan to perform, write music and collaborate with other artists.
From there, Sherwin matriculated at Yale University. After graduation, he remained in New Haven, where he currently is a conductor in the American Baroque orchestra and where he also does research work with the Charles Ives Society, one named for the early twentieth-century American composer who later gained a worldwide following for his original music.
The National YoungArts Foundation (YoungArts) was established in 1981 by Lin and Ted Arison to identify and nurture the most accomplished young artists in the visual, literary, design and performing arts, and assist them at critical junctures in their educational and professional development.
YoungArts winners receive valuable support, including financial awards of up to $10,000, professional development and educational experiences working with renowned mentors and performance and exhibition opportunities at some of the nation’s leading cultural institutions, including the The Metropolitan Museum of Art, but also the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, The Museum of Modern Art in New York and New World Center in Miami. YoungArts winners are eligible for nomination as a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts, one of the nation’s highest honors for high school students who exemplify academic and artistic excellence.
As an alumnus, Sherwin has remained involved in Young Arts programs. Four years ago, he performed in a similar recital at the Met. Last week, he was back again, continuing a productive relationship with a program that Sherwin hopes to stay involved in for years to come.
