It has been a year of triumphs for Friends’ Central students in the arts and academics. Among the many accolades, three senior musicians have achieved incredible success at the state level and beyond. Friends’ Central was also declared number one in Montgomery County in a state-wide math contest.

Outstanding Musicians
Pennsylvania Music Education Association draws upon talented musicians from across Montgomery, Philadelphia, Delaware, Bucks, and Chester Counties. Michael Chou ’23 and Claire Samaha ’23 have been participating in the PMEA since 10th grade.

In March, Michael, a lifelong violinist and dedicated violist, successfully auditioned at the Region VI Orchestra Festival, moving onto the All-State Festival in April, a three-day music extravaganza held at the Kalahari Resort Convention Center and sponsored by the PMEA. Michael competed in the All-State Honors Orchestra division and was selected to be principal violist in the All-State Orchestra, making him the number one violist in the state.

“I feel really great about this accomplishment. I worked very hard, and it paid off. Ranking number one felt incredible,” said Michael. 

Claire, who plays the alto saxophone, auditioned at the PMEA Region VI Band Festival and advanced to the All-State Festival, competing in the Honors Symphonic Band division. From the competition, Claire was named second chair alto saxophone in the All-State Band, making her the second-highest alto saxophone player in the state. 

“I’m really glad I made it to states this year. I made it in sophomore year too, so it felt nice to do it again,” said Claire. “Also, my first experience was virtual because of COVID-19. This year, the festival was in person, so it was a great experience participating with many other talented musicians.”

Another outstanding FCS musician, Kokayi Jones '23, was a quarterfinalist, High School Division, at the National Trumpet Competition held at The University of Colorado, Boulder this March. Trumpet players from around the country submitted recordings, and the top 40 were selected as quarter finalists to compete in the live rounds. 

“I feel that most people would say that it's a noteworthy accomplishment, but I think that there's more work to be done from me. Moving forward, all I can do is practice. And, when I think I’m done, practice more,” said Kokayi, who is determined to continue to achieve.

Michael, Claire, and Kokayi are all members of Friends' Central's own Orchestra and Jazz Band, directed by Carl Bradley. “It has been a great pleasure working with all three in our ensembles at school. Knowing that their playing has been acknowledged by my peers across the state and at the national level reaffirms for me what we have always known; they are exceptional,” said Carl.

All three musicians are graduating from Friends’ Central this spring. Michael is going to Tufts where he hopes to study Engineering. While he does not plan to major in music, he intends to participate in the orchestra program at whichever school he chooses. Claire will be attending Carnegie Mellon University and plans to major in Biomedical and Materials Engineering. She hopes to join a music ensemble such as a chamber group or the All-University Orchestra at Carnegie Mellon. Kokayi will be attending the Boyer College of Music and Dance at Temple University, where he plans to major in Trumpet Performance. 

Outstanding Mathematicians
In the field of math, Friends’ Central students have also outdone themselves this year. Students in Calculus II Advanced and Linear Algebra, our highest levels of math, participated in the PA Math League (PAML) throughout the school year. PAML was founded in 1977, and its main purpose is to, “promote enjoyment and study of mathematics by organizing contests for grades 4-12.” There are six contests over the course of the year, and after each contest, PAML takes the top six scores from the school to count towards the school’s total score. 

Upper School math teacher Linda Quinlan was excited to share that Friends’ Central placed first in Montgomery County, and Jack Barsotti ’24 earned a perfect score on all six tests, an achievement matched by only one other student in the state. “We are so proud of all of the students who competed throughout the school year,” said Linda. “The contests are designed so that the most gifted students find those last several problems especially challenging. The fact that Jack earned a perfect score on all of the tests is quite remarkable.”

“I’m really proud of my score on the PAML tests,” said Jack. “I had a lot of fun with the problems and was really happy with some of the more elegant solutions that I came up with! I’m also proud that, together with my classmates, our combined achievements resulted in FCS being awarded the top score in Montgomery County.”

Jack, who is currently in 11th grade, isn’t yet sure about his plans for college, but he knows he wants to pursue something in the field of STEM. He’s hoping to focus on computer science or robotics.

Congratulations to all of our extraordinary students who excelled this year. We look forward to seeing what their futures hold!