Wheatley seniors Jamie Brensilber and Lambert Chu have both shared a strong affinity for music.
Now they have something else in common – they are the The Wheatley School honor students for the class of 2013.
The two were recognized at the Wheatley School graduation on Sunday at ceremonies held at the Tilles Center.
Brensilber has played flute and piccolo in the Wheatley Symphonic Band. Chu, who has played violin since the fifth grade, also has performed in the Wheatley Symphonic Band.
Brensilber started playing piano in third grade. She started playing flute in fifth grade and picked up the piccolo as a freshman at Wheatley. She’s played both wind instruments in the pit orchestra for productions of “Les Miserables” and “Legally Blonde.” But she is most passionate about the first instrument she learned.
“I like the full range of pitches,” she said of the piano, which she’s earned the highest scores on in New York State School Music Association Awards.
Chu has earned NYSSMA all-state and all-county honors playing the violin, which has been a particular source of enjoyment for him.
“It’s an outlet from schoolwork,” he said. “And playing on stage, it builds confidence.”
Brensilber said playing music has been a creative outlet for her too. She enjoys playing show tunes and classical music on the piano and she said she’s particularly enjoyed “hearing the singing match up with the playing” in performing the musical scores.
Brensilber combined her interests in music and math by conducting research on how mathematical aspects of music make it sound beautiful for a project at the annual Al Kalfus Long Island Math Fair this year. She established that note ratios of thirds and fifths sounded pleasing to the ear, while the dissonant ratios of other note intervals simply did not.
Chu has earned success as a two-time Siemens National semifinalist to science research he conducted on how aspirin and morphine adversely affected the survival of colon cancer cells by triggering the production of nitrous oxide. He conducted his research at SUNY Old Westbury and may continue it at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he’ll be attending classes this fall.
But he won’t be concentrating on science research.
“I’m really interested in computer science and the business aspect of the computer industry,” Chu said.
Both his parents work in the computer industry, but he said it was an Advanced Placement course he took at Wheatley last year that sparked his interest in pursuing computer science as a major.
Chu is president of the class of 2013 and captain of the Mathletes team. He was also captain of the Wheatley varsity baseball team, which advanced to competition for the state competition in its division this year.
They beat Oyster Bay in a best two-out-of-three series to win the county championship and beat Southhampton to take the Long Island championship and advanced through the regional finals against Spackenkill High School before losing to Clinton High School in extra innings.
Chu had a 2-2 record as a starting pitcher on the team, but an arm injury prevented him from pitching in the playoffs. He played first base in the playoffs and during the regular season, compiling a .380 batting average.
Both Brensilber and Chu are members of the Tri-M Music Society and National Honor Society, with Chu president of the Wheatley chapter. Chu is also a member of the Spanish Honor Society.
Brensilber is president of the community action committee, co-president of the French Club and secretary of Mock Trial, an educational law club that competes against other schools in cases provided by the New York State Bar Association. This year, Wheatley finished among the top eight teams in Nassau County.
“I’ve always been interested in law and American government,” Brensilber said.
She said she plans to attend Emory College with a double major in math and pre-law and a minor in French.
Outside of school, Brensilber has been studying ballet since she was two years old, studying for the past six years at the Hannah Kroner School of Dance in Albertson.
This summer, she’ll be volunteering at a summer camp for special needs children in Wheatley Heights, a camp sponsored by the Sid Jacobson Center in Roslyn.
Chu will be traveling to China for a month, visiting relatives with his family and exploring parts of the country he’s never seen before.
Both students finished their Wheatley studies with 4.0 grade point averages. Since Wheatley doesn’t maintain student rankings, Brensilber said she was surprised to be one of the two honor students in the graduating class.
Chu said he was hoping to be selected and considers it “a really big honor.”
Both students expressed gratitude for their experiences at Wheatley because of the close-knit nature of the school community.
In eighth grade, Brensilber said, she began teaching herself French with the assistance of the late Wheatley language teacher Bill Van Dyke. It’s something she doesn’t think she could have done at a larger school.
“You get to know every kid in your grade and even teachers you never have in class,” Chu said. “It’s easy to ask someone for help. You don’t get that in a big school.”
