Kennebec Journal, Morning Sentinel profile incoming music student
The Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel profiled an incoming University of Maine student who plans to enroll in the Division of Music for the upcoming fall semester. Nathanael Batson, a senior at Lawrence High School, is the 2019 Section I recipient of the National High School Heart of the Arts Award, and is eligible to be selected as the national winner of the award, who will be recognized this summer. “I’m honored,” said Batson. “It just kind of shows, with respect to what I’ve been through, my tribulations and adversities. It shows I love music and have a heart for music.” Batson also is legally blind due to neurofibromatosis, a rare hereditary disorder that causes tumors throughout the body, according to the article. The trumpet player was accepted into the All-State Music Festival, and has played with the Kennebec Valley Music Educators Association Band every year of high school, and the All-State Band as a sophomore, as well as the 2017 National Scout Jamboree Band, according to the article.