WINDSOR — Roxanne Sherwin’s love music and theater goes beyond her playing the trumpet and performing in plays.
Just as important is her enthusiasm for spreading that enjoyment to others.
As president of the Tri-M National Honors Music Society at Windsor High School, Sherwin, a senior and the school’s Student of the Month for February, organizes fundraisers and other events for the music program,
Tri-M’s Windsor chapter was started by seniors when Sherwin was a sophomore and she has accepted different roles to keep it going. This year, she was lead organizer of three coffeehouses, which gave people the opportunity to sing, play an instrument or recite poetry.
“It is a venue for people to perform, feel safe and comfortable,” Sherwin said during an interview after school last month. “I like giving people something to have in common and bond over this passion we all have creating some kind of music.”
Bryan Stammelan, Windsor’s band and performing arts teacher, said the coffeehouses were started last year with one event, but Sherwin raised it to another level this year.
“She really has taken it on to make sure they happen,” Stammelan said during the rehearsal for the school’s spring play in early May. “She organized everything and decorated for each one. Everything she does is above and beyond.”
Sherwin, who plays the trumpet, also took the lead in putting together the school’s “Final Showcase,” which takes place in late May. The fundraiser recognizes students’ achievements for the year.
“She has taken charge of organizing that,” Stammelan said. “She takes on anything. You ask her to do anything, and she will do it. She is one of the most driven students I have been around.”
Sherwin said Tri-M is a great way to promote both band and choir at the school.
“I like being able to share this connection with music,” she said. “And I want to bring it into the community and bring it in the schools to get people more interested in it.”
Stammelan said Sherwin is an “incredibly hard worker” who is always willing to put in extra time to improve her trumpet playing. As part of a senior performance of “Stardust” — which has a prominent trumpet solo — Sherwin spent her free periods in the band room practicing.
Sherwin’s love of music is equaled by her devotion to theater. She has been in eight plays during her time at Windsor High School and has shown her talent with diverse roles including Donna in “Mama Mia the Musical” last fall, Ursula in “The Little Mermaid” and Janice in “Mean Girls.”
“I first did it in eighth grade and really liked it so I wanted to continue and keep doing it through high school,” Sherwin said about theater and acting.
What is unique about theater, Sherwin said, is how some students might barely know each other when planning for a production begins but weeks later, it is a different story.
“I feel like you bond so quickly with everyone,” Sherwin said, adding that “tech week” — the final week before public performance — can be nerve wracking but the cast and stage crew really come together to support each other.
“It is because you are all in this together,” Sherwin said.
Perhaps her biggest challenge was in the production of “The Iliad, The Odyssey, and All of Greek Mythology in 99 Minutes or Less,” which took place in early May.
With a very small cast of just 10 students, Sherwin said she has embraced the challenge of having to memorize lines for 17 parts she has in “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey.”
Last year, Sherwin shared her interest in theater by helping the high school’s ACE students put on show. ACE is an alternative classroom experience for students that can could include community-based projects and practical, hands-on learning.
“I think I now have a bond with the students (in ACE) which is nice because they are not always included in events at the high school,” Sherwin said.
In awarding her Student of the Month, the Windsor Rotary, which selects each student noted that Sherwin has “helped to organize all of the events and fundraisers they’ve put on as a music department this year.”
“She is a staunch advocate for the arts and is always coming up with new ideas that can bring recognition to Windsor’s music and theater programs,” the Rotary wrote in a news release.
Last October, Tri-M put on an event in the high school band room for children called Spooky Story Time with snacks for everyone.
“It was completely her idea and she organized it,” Stammelan said. “She got the books, made decorations. She made it happen.”
Skye Robicheau, drama and performing arts teacher at Windsor, called Sherwin “exemplary” not only for her theatrical skills and dedication to each role, but also for her support of other students.
Robicheau recalled a poetry competition that required two students to compete against each other, but there was only one student.
“She went home, memorized a poem and competed so the other student could go to the next level of competition,” Robicheau said.
“She is very dedicated and very encouraging to other students,” Robicheau said. “She often works with cast mates to help them feel secure in their roles.”
Sherwin, who maintains a 4.0 grade point average and is also on the Windsor bowling team, plans to study musical theater in college next fall at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.
