NEWS

At corner of Broadway & Sandy Lane

By DAN HOLMES
Posted 1/18/23

It was six Christmases ago that Bryan Barette, music director at St Kevin Church, happened to overhear an altar server singing to herself in the sacristy.

“I was looking for someone to …

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NEWS

At corner of Broadway & Sandy Lane

Posted

It was six Christmases ago that Bryan Barette, music director at St Kevin Church, happened to overhear an altar server singing to herself in the sacristy.

“I was looking for someone to perform ‘O, Holy Night,’ and Erin sounded like she might be able to fill the role,” he recounts. The sixth-grader had never sung before an audience, but she surprisingly needed little encouragement. “A lot of kids will get nervous or freeze up in front of an audience, but she just stepped up and sang at the midnight Mass like a natural.”

Six years after her debut on Sandy Lane, Erin Abatiello is getting ready for a bigger venue: Carnegie Hall.

 “I can’t wait,” she says. “My family went on a trip to see the Rockettes last month, so of course I had to take them all to look at Carnegie Hall before we even went to Radio City.” The Prout School senior and native of Warwick’s Cole Farm neighborhood was one of 500 student performers selected from roughly 10,000 auditions worldwide. Music teachers from schools around the world nominated their star pupils, together with a video of them singing or playing their chosen instrument.

 “I didn’t even know that my music teacher had nominated me,” she says. “He recorded me singing an Italian aria last spring, but I didn’t know he had actually submitted it anywhere until I received the letter saying I had been accepted.”

The 17-year-old soprano was one of two Prout students invited to the prestigious performance series, which offers young musicians an opportunity to work with professional conductors. 

“We also get to meet other students and musicians from around the world,” she adds. “That’s probably what I’m the most excited about – making new connections that I couldn’t have anywhere else.”

Making meaningful connections through music is more than just a social interest for Erin; she will be attending Assumption University in Worcester next year to study psychology and music, with the hope of eventually becoming a music therapist.

“The two interests started to come together recently,” she says, explaining that her fascination with mental health was sparked by an incident in which a childhood friend had suffered a panic attack.  “I didn’t know what to do or how I could help her, and that made me want to start studying about it.  When I learned there were ways I could help people through music, it just made sense for me.”

Abatiello will be singing a total of four pieces during her Feb. 4 performance, which include passages in Hebrew and Aboriginal Australian languages.

“We have to rehearse as much as we can on our own, because the choir only has three opportunities to practice together before the concert,” she says.

She is used to rehearsing at home – a reality forced upon many musicians by the pandemic. 

“My dad built me my own rehearsal room to practice in during the quarantine,” she says.

Paul Abatiello remembers things somewhat differently.

“It was supposed to be a study space for all the kids,” he says. “It isn’t much, just a quiet spot in the garage where they could go to Zoom or do homework. But then Erin discovered that the acoustics were perfect for singing. After her older sister left for college, Erin put up her icon of St. Cecillia [the patron saint of musicians] and really claimed the space as her own little music room.”

Outside of music, Erin also has a burgeoning interest in theater; she is a member of Prout’s theater program and is currently preparing for their production of Our Town. She is particularly excited that the itinerary for students in the program includes tickets to a Broadway show.

“We’re seeing Wicked,” she beams. “The only way it could be better would be if Phantom hadn’t just closed.”

Perhaps the Great White Way is in her future, but for now, Erin Abatiello can count on plenty of support from Warwick for her big night.

“We’ve ordered a total of 14 tickets,” says Kathleen Abatiello, Erin’s mother. “We’ll be bringing in family from Connecticut and right here in Warwick. We’re all so proud of her.”

Broadway, Carnegie

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