Throughout Senior Rogan Cavanaugh’s high school years, he has built up his career in music. He plays various instruments with passion, enthusiasm and pride.
Cavanaugh has been playing the flute since he was in the 4th grade. He has played various instruments, the flute being his primary, and he has also played saxophone and piccolo. Additionally, Cavanaugh is in the marching band and plays flute in the woodwind section.
Among his many accomplishments, Cavanaugh performed exceptionally at PMEA (Pennsylvania Music Educators Association) at the district level. He was awarded the prestigious first chair position for flute and moved on to the Regional competition. Cavanaugh is the first Trinity student in seven years to progress to Regionals.
He described auditioning as “really competitive” and “very nerve-wracking.”
There is an abundance of flutists at PMEA, making his section especially difficult to succeed in.
While participating, he was able to leave with new lessons and ideas. Students were able to work under a guest conductor who was very talented and had a reputation for giving students under him useful advice to take away from the experience.
In college, Cavanaugh will be studying music education at Slippery Rock University.
Cavanaugh says, “Since I’m going into Music Ed in the future, I’m going to take some of those pieces of advice with me and I’m going to be able to use them to help out my students in the future.”
In the 2024 marching band season, he performed three solos along with a handful of solos in concert band. He was also given solos in the Slippery Rock Honors Flute Ensemble last year, which he has been participating in since his junior year.
The ensemble is a program for dedicated flute players and is designed to prepare students for careers in music education. It consists of high school and college students working together to create a concert, helping students learn from one another and advance their skills.
Junior Jordan Keener said, “I’ve seen Rogan succeed in music all year, and I believe he really deserves
this recognition. He is definitely someone in music worth looking up to.”
Last year, Cavanaugh also participated in the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Side By Side Program. He became
involved after band teacher Mr. Hilty introduced him to the event.
The Side By Side program is an opportunity for high school students to rehearse and perform alongside official Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra players. After making the cut, Cavanaugh met with the orchestra and rehearsed together for a variety of different performances, one being at Heinz Hall.
Throughout the years, Cavanaugh has come a long way in his music career and has many more accomplishments in his future.
