Kilgore High School student to play at Carnegie Hall

KILGORE, TX (KLTV) - When Lorri Stone's son, Jacob, brought home a double bass in the sixth grade she didn't know what to expect. But one thing's for sure, she was surprised at what she heard.

"When he hit that first note I was just amazed and I stopped what I was doing and I walked around the corner and listened," she said. "But when I heard him from that first moment I knew, Jacob's got a gift."

Kilgore High School junior, Jacob Stone, said he felt a connection to the instrument from the moment he held it. But he still needed some sibling advice on what instrument to pick.

"I asked my brother which one he (thought) I should choose and he said pick the biggest, deepest, manliest instrument that they have and I was like that's exactly what I was thinking," he said.

Now, five years later Stone is getting ready to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City. He was named a finalist in Carnegie Hall's High School Honors Performance Series after auditioning back in July.

It all began when Jacob was selected as a bassist in the Association of Texas Small School Bands' All-State Band in February. He said he had the honor of performing with top high school musicians in the state; this was his ticket to being eligible to audition for the performance series.

This is a dream come true for Stone.

"Carnegie Hall goes into an area of dreaming that's like way out of reach," he said. "(You think) this is a dream that's never going to happen and suddenly it happens. It's a dream come true; it's absolutely mind-blowing."

According to Jacob's mom, music runs in the family.

"One thing that makes this so special for our family is that Jacob's great-grandfather, Jack England, was a very well loved and still to this day beloved band director in the East Texas community and so to me this is like Jacob is kind of extending and caring out that legacy that he left," she said.

Now that Jacob has accomplished his biggest goal; he's thinking ahead to the future.

"This might actually be my calling. This might be what I want to do for the rest of my life and since then I've planned a little bit of the road map," he said.

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