Southold teen to attend prestigious Curtis Institute of Music Southold High School senior Juliet Rand plays the organ at St. Patrick’s R.C. Church in Southold. (Credit: Jeremy Garretson)
When Juliet Rand was just 8 years old, her grandparents Ronnie and Jerry Matovcik took her to a local vineyard to see an opera concert. It was an experience that likely would be forgettable for most children that age, but it left a profound impression on her.
“I was just in awe of the singers,” Juliet, now 18, said in a Zoom interview last week. “I told them, ‘That’s what I want to do.’ It was amazing the way they told stories through music and made you feel emotions you didn’t realize you had. I knew I wanted to be able to share that with people.”