Credit: Natalie Garibaldi

Join WSPN’s Kergan Hill as she talks to WHS freshman Natalie Garibaldi about her career as a musician.

Join WSPN’s Kergan Hill as she talks to freshman Natalie Garibaldi about her career as a musician.

What instrument do you play?

I play both the violin and the viola.

When and why did you start playing your instrument?

I started playing the violin in kindergarten and played for a year before quitting, and then I started piano. I hated piano so I quit that. My parents still wanted me to play an instrument because both of them are musicians as well. At the time, the only ensemble at my school was orchestra, so I picked up violin again in second grade. I picked up viola the summer before eighth grade started because my family friend who is in the Boston Symphony Orchestra thought it would be a really good idea.

What are your favorite types of music to play and why?

So as a classical musician, my favorite type of music to play is obviously classical music because that is the only type I play. But more specifically, I prefer playing and listening to classical music from the romantic to modern era with Dvořák, Prokofiev and Saint-Saëns being some of my favorite composers.

What groups do you play for and why?

I have been in the school orchestras in Wayland since I started playing. Currently I am in the String Orchestra at WHS, and I will be in the Honors Sinfonia next year. I have been a part of many musical groups at Rivers Conservatory since I first moved here in fourth grade. I am currently in their top orchestra, Rivers Youth Symphony, but I have been in each of the lower four [groups] since I started at Rivers. I am also part of the Rivers Conservatory Chamber Music Program. I have been in a quartet this year and last year. And [I was in] a piano trio the three years before being in the quartet.

I made the [Massachusetts Music Educators Association (MMEA)] Eastern Junior District Festival in seventh and eighth grade for violin, and then I made the MMEA Eastern Senior District Festival this year for viola. The reason why I play for so many groups is because for most of my musical career, I have heavily preferred playing in ensembles over playing solo pieces.

Who or what inspires you in music?

My inspiration for playing has kind of been all over the place. In elementary school it was something new and interesting, and I took private lessons so I was a bit ahead of other kids who had just started, so I took pride in being a leader.

In middle school that kind of wore off, I didn’t practice and the only thing keeping me going was the thought of seeing my friends at rehearsal. When I hit eighth grade – I had just picked up viola – [Wayland Middle School Orchestra teacher Whitney Tandon] gave me the contacts for two high school viola practice partners. I ended up picking one, his name is Josh Nuspl, and he graduated from WHS in 2025. We had weekly lessons last year. Right now Josh is my current inspiration to practice and work hard, and I still look forward to playing with and seeing all my friends at all of my musical activities.

What is your favorite piece of music that you’ve performed?

My favorite piece that I have ever performed is probably the Bacchanale from Samson and Delilah by Saint-Saëns. I have performed this piece twice. Once on violin in the Junior District Festival and once on viola in Youth Symphony. This piece has really cool sounding intervals and percussion, and it has some beautiful melodies.

What advice would you give someone who is just beginning to get involved in playing your instrument?

Some advice I would give to someone who is just beginning to get involved in playing a string instrument is most simply find a way to make it fun. More seriously, I would suggest getting a practice partner to make sure you don’t develop bad habits right from the start.