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Graduate Profile: Music Prodigy Stays on Even Keel to Graduate
from City Tech on June 3 at age 18
How many young people earn a college degree at age 18 and can say they've performed at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center of the Performing Arts? Not many, unless they happen to be a member of the Constant family.
The family's three siblings -- Pierre, 18, who plays violin and viola; Daniel, 17, a violinist; and Jessica, 14, a cellist -- are all students at New York City College of Technology and have performed as the Constant Family String Trio in some of the nation's most hallowed concert halls. Pierre will be adding a college degree on June 3 to his already impressive résumé when he walks down the aisle at Madison Square Garden to receive his associate's degree in computer information systems.
Next year he will be followed by Daniel, who is also majoring in computer information systems. Jessica, who has designs on becoming a doctor in addition to pursuing a career as a musician, is currently a nursing major.
The three Constants, who live in Bellrose, Queens, are the youngest members of the South Shore Philharmonic Orchestra of Long Island. Pierre and Jessica currently study in the preparatory division of The Juilliard School at Lincoln Center, while Daniel studies at the Mannes College of Music. In 1999 and 2000, Pierre won the prestigious NAACP ACT-SO Silver Medal for classical instrumental soloists, while his brother took the bronze medal in 2000 in the same competition.
Pierre will go on in his studies at City Tech this coming fall to earn a bachelor of technology degree in computer systems technology and, at the same time, enroll in the college division at Juilliard to major in performance. "My goal is to become a soloist for major orchestras," he says. "While I'm in the process of achieving that, I would like to work for a major computer company in networking or systems analysis."
This past November the Constant Trio took the stage at the Kennedy Center playing pieces by Bach, Mozart, Puccini, Chopin, Schubert, Saint-Saëns, Debussy and others. Their appearance was made possible by Virginia Williams, mother of Washington Mayor Anthony Williams, in tandem with the Washington Performing Arts Society. Mayor Williams proclaimed the day that they performed "Constant Day." The trio has also performed in New York City subway stations and give an annual concert in July at the Union Chapel on Martha's Vineyard.
Pierre and his siblings' association with City Tech was forged before they were even born. Their mother, Gessie (Castel) Constant, a registered nurse, is an alumna of the college (class of '83), and their father, Daniel, is an adjunct professor in the Department of Mathematics. The Constant parents met, of course, at City Tech, when Gessie was a student and Daniel was a tutor. Both parents are from Haiti (he, Port-au-Prince; she, Les Cayes). Neither one of them professes to any musical talent, nor were there any virtuosos in the preceding generations.
For Pierre, his passion for music began at age 10 when his fourth grade class went on a trip to Lincoln Center and the tour guide talked about music and composers. "I was amazed that he was talking about composers who had died hundreds of years ago and that their legacy lives on," says Pierre. "Soon after that, my father bought me a violin and within 2-1/2 years of taking lessons my teacher said it was time for me to audition at Juilliard."
His brother and sister decided to take up an instrument two months after Pierre began lessons on the violin. "I see myself as a role model for my brother and sister, to lead them in the proper academic and musical directions. I'm the one who likes to think a lot about the future. My brother is the more calm, easygoing one, and my sister is a combination of being calm and ambitious."
At the age of 13, Pierre registered at City Tech after scoring a perfect score on The City University of New York admissions test. It had been hard for him to fit in at his previous schools, PS 115 and MS 172, because other students made fun of him for wearing a tie to school. When he came to City Tech he dressed in suits in order to look older.
"City Tech has been a wonderful school for me," says Pierre, who has maintained a 2.5 grade point average. "A lot of the teachers here encourage me to take an active part in what I learn. They really care about the students, as do administrators like President Fred Beaufait and his executive assistant Stephen Soiffer."
Pierre knows that his goal of being a soloist with major orchestras is going to be a tough one to achieve. "I have to continue working hard, keep my priorities straight, be patient and enjoy what I'm doing. That, plus being lucky and getting all the breaks, will get me where I want to go."
With success comes responsibility, according to this young man. "I feel that when you reach your goals, you give back to your community. Right now, I always give money or food to poor people on the street. I plan on doing more when I am able to."
