- My name is Ryan Godfrey.

I go to Washingtonville High School and I play trumpet and piano.

(gentle music) Today.

I played Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C-Sharp Minor, Opus three, Number two.

I describe it as just a really moody, uber romantic piece of music for piano.

And it's just a lot of emotion and drama behind it, which is why I think I really like it a lot.

I like the ability to push and pull with the tempo and just be expressive with it.

(gentle music) I think the challenging thing is not necessarily the notes and rhythms, but the expression behind it and the emotional energy behind it.

And you really do have to listen to a lot of recordings and just listen to what other people do, the choices they make, and then make your own decisions of how do I wanna make this piece unique for me.

(gentle music) I started piano when I was in kindergarten and I just never really stopped 'cause I loved playing it.

I love playing classical music, but I love playing all kinds of styles.

I do a lot of pops piano.

It's just a really good release.

It's very cathartic to play, I feel, and it's just something that's always been a part of my life.

And I've loved it since I was young.

(lively music) I play classical trumpet, starting to dabble a little bit in jazz, but I'm mainly just a classical trumpet player and I like to compose music.

I like composing music for concert band.

I have numerous full works composed for concert band, and I enjoy to play those with my high school ensembles and share music with students that way.

(dramatic music) I plan on studying music education in college.

I wanna be a band director of high school students someday down the road.

And I also hope to minor in music composition and be a published composer.

My band teacher, Mr. Ari Contzius, nominated me.

I'd definitely like to thank Mr. Contzius.

He's definitely been very supportive.

He's given me a lot of opportunities that other band directors wouldn't.

And he's put a lot of faith in me, like allowing me to write songs for his ensemble, stuff like that.

I also want to thank my piano teachers that I have through the years, Mr. Cirillo, who gave me this piece and has really taught me a lot about piano technique and how to play it really well.

And I'd also like to thank Mr. Reagan, Mr. Coachman.

And of course I'd like to thank my mother for putting up with me every day and inspire me to be better.

(soft music)