SCHOLARSHIP AWARD RECIPIENTS FOR 2011
We wish to thank the Starling Foundation, the Foundation for the Advancement of String Education, the National Federation of Music Clubs and all of the sponsors of these scholarships for their generous help in support of deserving and highly talented students attending Meadowmount.
2011 STARLING FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS
The nationally recognized Starling Foundation, whose mission is to support leading American violin teachers and their studios, has chosen to add the studio ofJan Mark Sloman, longtime DMTA member and supporter, to its list of recipients. Their commitment to Mr. Sloman's studio at the famed Meadowmount School of Music includes both scholarship and private lesson assistance.
Sein An has performed solo with the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra and Temple University Symphony Orchestra and has won competitions such as the 2009 North Carolina Symphony Concerto Competition (Junior), The Starling Scholarship Audition, and Temple University Orchestra Concerto Competition.
Born in Korea, Sei has studied violin at the Music Prep School of the Korea University of Arts with Mr. Sang-Woo Park. Her family moved to North Carolina in December 2008 and she has studied violin with Ms. Beverly Andrews, a concertmaster of Wilmington Symphony Orchestra. Sein is currently studying at Temple Music Prep. School since her family moved to Pennsylvania last summer. She studies underJan Mark Sloman at Meadowmount.
Born in 1994, Ruth Chang began taking violin lessons at the age of four and is currently studying withJan Mark Sloman. After winning grand prize in the YOGFW Young Artists’ Competition, Ms. Chang made her orchestral debut with the Youth Orchestra of Greater Fort Worth in 2006. Ms. Chang won top prizes in the Dallas Symphonic Festival in 2008 and 2007. In 2010, she was a finalist in the Lynn Harrell Concerto Competition and Fort Worth Symphony Concerto Competition.
In 2011, she was the alternate winner of the MTNA semifinals and advanced to the semifinal round in the ASTA competition. Also, she won grand prize in the Hubbard Solo and Chamber Music Competition. Ruth performed for Ko Iwasaki, Chee Yun Kim, Stephanie Chase, James Ehnes, Sergiu Luca, Ani Kavafian, and Ida Kavafian. In the summer, she regularly attends The Institute for Strings directed by Jan Sloman and has attended Meadowmount for the last three years with a merit scholarship.
Abigail Fuchs, age 14, from Frisco Texas attends Heritage high School and studies withJan Mark Sloman at home and at Meadowmount. She has won awards from The Dallas Music Teachers Association and Symphonic Festival and the Collin County young Artists Competition.
Fourteen year old Jordan Lee has played the violin for 11 years. She resides in Plano, TX, and is a student of Jasper High School. Jordan has won awards at the Dallas Symphonic Festival, the North Texas Youth Music Competition, and the Collin County Young Artist Competition. In 2011, she was the Texas state representative of the Junior String division at the MTNA competition. Jordan was also a member of the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra for 3 years and was selected to be a member of the Texas All-State Symphony Orchestra last year as well.
In the summer, she has participated in the Heifetz International Music Institute, the Great Wall International Music Academy, the Meadowmount School of Music, and The Institute for Strings, a summer strings program founded byJan Mark Sloman. She is a student ofJan Mark Sloman.
Seula Lee, age 19 was born in Korea and lives in Dallas, Texas. She attends the University of North Texas on full scholarship and studies with Philip Lewis. Seula won first prize at the Hubbard Competition, Lewisville Lake young Artists Competition for two consecutive years and first prize in the Bach Society Competition. At Meadowmount she studies withJan Mark Sloman.
Young Canadian-born violinist Shannon Lee made a stunning orchestral debut at the age of twelve with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in 2005, performing Chausson’s Poème and Franz Waxman’s Carmen Fantasy, originally written for Jascha Heifetz. In the front-page article, The Dallas Morning News exclaimed, “when she started to play, her maturity and skill suddenly placed her artistic age far beyond her calendar one.” Later that year, Shannon was featured as soloist during the DSO’s Texas Tour, performing the Barber Violin Concerto. She was immediately engaged by the tour’s conductor Giancarlo Guerrero, for performances of Prokofiev D Major Concerto in the spring of 2007.
Charlotte’s Maestro Perick also heard Shannon while conducting in Dallas and invited her to North Carolina to perform the Sibelius Concerto. In November of 2007, Shannon made her European debut with Maestro Perick and the Nuremberg Philharmonic Orchestra in Germany. Recent and upcoming engagements include the Nashville Symphony, Colorado Music Festival, Waco Symphony, Lewisville Lake Symphony, Arkansas Symphony, West Virginia Symphony, Las Vegas Philharmonic and the Phoenix Symphony. At age 14, Shannon made her debut recording for Telarc International, featuring works by Wieniawski, Kreisler, Ernst, and Bazzini.
Shannon began studying the violin at the age of four. At eleven, she won the top prize for bowed instruments in the American String Teachers Association Biennial National Solo Competition’s junior division. Subsequent awards have included the Davidson Fellows Award, the Bayard H. Friedman Award for Outstanding Student in Performing Arts, the Texas’ Young Master Scholarship, the Asian American Alliance for the Arts Outstanding Achievement Award, first place in the Lynn Harrell Concerto Competition, Silver Medal in the Stulberg International String Competition, and top prizes in the Kingsville Competition.
Shannon has studied privately withJan Mark Sloman since 2000 and has performed privately and in master classes for Itzhak Perlman, Jaime Laredo, Elmar Oliveira, and Arnold Steinhardt. An avid chamber musician, Shannon’s summer and winter activities have included Mr. Sloman’s Institute for Strings in Dallas, Heifetz International Music Institute in New Hampshire, Great Wall International Music Academy in Beijing, New York String Orchestra Seminar, the Perlman Music Program, and ENCORE School for Strings, where Shannon studied with David and Linda Cerone. Shannon was started on violin with teachers Paul Landefeld and Ann Grosshans. She studies with David Nadien in New York, where she is currently a sophomore at Columbia University. She studies withJan Mark Sloman at Meadowmount.
Kiarra Saito-Beckman, age 12 from Bend Oregon is a part-time home schooled 6th grader who also attends the Cascade Middle School. She plays the violin, cello and piano. She studies with Holland Phillips at home and withJan Mark Sloman while at Meadowmount.
Amelia Sie, age 15, is a 9th Grader in Newport High School and is also home-schooled in Bellevue. Amelia began violin at the age of 4 with Katsutoshi Nakamura. In 2005, Amelia joined the Pressley Violin Studio, and was named a Starling Violin Scholar that fall. Amelia is currently studying with Simon James andJan Mark Sloman in Dallas and at Meadowmount. She also works with pianist Hiro David.
Amelia made her solo debut with the Seattle Festival Orchestra in 2005 at the age of 8. In 2008, she performed the Finale of the Bruch Violin Concerto in G minor with Bellevue Philharmonic Orchestra as a winner of the Young Artist Debut Concerto Competition, and later performed the entire Bruch Concerto in G Minor with the Seattle Festival Orchestra. In the summer of 2008, she performed Sarasate’s ‘Zigeunerweisen’ as guest soloist with the Sammamish Symphony Orchestra.
In 2009, Amelia was invited by the Cascade Symphony Orchestra to perform Saint-Saëëns’ Concerto No. 3 in B minor, 3rd Movement. In 2010, she performed five concerts with Seattle Symphony Orchestra, playing Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, 1st movement. In January of 2011, she performed ‘Zigeunerweisen’ with Seattle Symphony for its Assistant Conductor’s audition, and she won the Coeur D’Alene Symphony Young Artist’s Competition. She performed Paganini’s Violin Concerto, 1st Movement, with the Coeur D’Alene Symphony in March of 2011.
Amelia has performed in master classes or had lessons with Brian Lewis, Vadim Repin, Leonidas Kavakos, Paul Kantor, James Ehnes, Ida Kavafian, Grigory Kalinovsky, William van der Sloot, Joseph Silverstein and Andrés Cárdenes. In her spare time, Amelia enjoys reading and spending time with friends.
Hope Simmons, age 14 is a home school student from Fort Worth, Texas. She began her studiesJan Mark Sloman in 2008 after being finalist in the Fort Worth Symphony Concerto Competition. In 2010 she served as co-concert master to the youth Orchestra of Greater Fort Worth. At Meadowmount Hope studies with Jan Mark Sloman.
Traci Theisen, age 15, from Plano Texas, studies with Jan Mark Sloman at home and at Meadowmount. She has achieved first place in the Mississippi MMTA, the Collin County Texas Young Artist 2011 Competition and placed in the Dallas Symphonic Competition and received honorable mention in the TASO 2011 Juanita Miller Competition.
Jackie Tso, 14 years old, is a freshman at Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy in Cincinnati, Ohio. She began Suzuki violin studies at the age of four. She joined the Starling String Project in the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music in 2005 and has been a student of Kurt Sassmannshaus since then. She made her debut with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra when she was eight years old at its Young People’s Concert in November, 2005 and was invited to play again in February and March 2009. She made her debut with the Santa Fe Concert Association Orchestra in September 2009. She has also played with Seven Hills Sinfonietta, Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, and the Blue Ash Montgomery Symphony Orchestra.
She attended the Great Wall Music Academy in Beijing, China for three summers in 2006, 2007, and 2008. She won 2nd place in the camp’s Concerto Competition and played Bruch’s Violin Concerto with the Beijing Broadcasting Orchestra in the Beijing Music Hall in July 2008. This past summer, she attended the National Arts Center Summer Music Institute in Ottawa, Canada and the Meadowmount Music School studying with Jan Mark Sloman. She was also the winner of the Young Artist Concerto Competition of the Blue Ash Montgomery Symphony Orchestra in 2008 and 2009. She has played in master classes for Pinchas Zukerman, Vadim Repin, and Ida Kafavian.
She was selected by Cincy Magazine as one of the most interesting people of 2009. She joined the Cincinnati Symphony Youth orchestra last fall and won 2nd prize of the Concerto Competition. She lives in Loveland, Ohio with her parents Weiyi-Li and Patrick Tso.
Carina Vincenti, age 17, began her violin studies in 2001 with Jan Coleman, continuing with the late Kent Coleman and currently with Simon James. She has soloed with Port Gardner Bay Chamber Orchestra(‘08 Snohomish County Music Teachers Assoc. Concerto Winner), with Seattle Symphony Orchestra (‘09 Arts in Education Series selected as one of the young violinists performing Vivaldi’s Concerto for Four Violins), with Philharmonia Northwest (as one of the ‘09 Seattle Young Artists Music Festival Concerto Winners), with Junior Symphony Orchestra (as one of the ‘09 SYSO Concerto Competition Winners), and with Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra (as the ‘10 SYSO Concerto Competition Winner).
She is a gold medal recipient for her 2010-2011 State Solo Contest performance, Washington Music Educators Association. Carina will be a senior at Inglemoor High School and Edmonds Community College Running Start student. She studies with Jan Mark Sloman at Meadowmount.
Justin Woo, age eighteen, will be a freshman at the Cleveland Institute of Music in the fall studying with Paul Kantor. He started the violin at the age of eight and recently studied violin with Simon James of the Seattle Symphony and also worked with pianist Hiro Imamura-David. He participated in the 2010-2011 New York String Orchestra Seminar, performing at Carnegie Hall. In 2010, Justin’s chamber ensemble secured First Place in the Seattle International Piano Festival Competition in the chamber program, performing the Brahms Piano Quintet.
Justin also placed Second in American String Teachers Association String Competition and in Beatrice Herman Competition. He won First Place in the concerto competition of ‘Strings’ International Music Festival. Justin has performed for Kurt Sassmannhauss, Oleh Krysa, Choon Jin Chang, Hyo Kang, Chee Yun Kim, and Aaron Berofsky. Over the past summers he has attended ‘Strings’ International Music Festival, Korea’s Great Mountains Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, and New York String Seminar. At Meadowmount, he studies with Jan Mark Sloman.
Violinist Christine Wu is a 15 year old from Plano, Texas. She began studying with Paul Landefeld at the age of 3 and has been a student of Jan Mark Sloman for the past 7 years. In 2010, Christine was the Texas state winner, South Central Division winner and a national finalist for the MTNA Junior String Performance Competition. She was also awarded first place at the Dallas Symphonic Festival in 2011, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2004, 2003. In addition Christine performed as a semi-finalist at the Schmidbauer International Competition in 2011.
She was selected to play in the Texas All-State symphony Orchestra in 2010 and 2011. She has participated in master classes for artists such as Adele Anthony, Stephanie Chase, Stephen Clapp, Brian Lewis, Sergiu Luca, James Ehnes, Ani Kavafian, and Ida Kavafian.
Christine is a recipient of a Starling Foundation scholarship this year at Meadowmount. In 2009 she was selected as one of twelve young artists for the Brian Lewis young Artist program. She has attended the Institute for Strings chamber music program founded byJan Mark Sloman, since 2005, as well as the Colorado Suzuki Institute summer program from 2001-2007, where she was selected to perform in the Solo Honor Recital every year. This summer at Meadowmount, Christine is a student of Jan Mark Sloman.
FOUNDATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF STRING EDUCATION
A grant awarded by the Foundation for the Advancement of String Education for the Viola Studio of Patricia McCarty has made possible the following George Bornoff Viola Scholarships.
Miriam Barfield began studying the violin at age six and the viola at thirteen. She graduated magna cum laude from Florida State University, where she studied with Pamela Ryan.
Miriam was a state winner for the ASTA National Solo Competition in 2010 (Massachusetts) and in 2008 (Florida). She has performed in solo master classes for Joseph Silverstein, Robert Spano, James Dunham, and Thomas Dumm. At age 17, she became one of the youngest members of the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra (Miriam Burns, director.) She has also played with the Tallahassee Ballet, Southeast Chamber Orchestra (Birmingham, AL), Sinfonia Gulf Coast (Destin, FL), and, most recently, as principal for the Cape Ann Symphony (Massachusetts.) Miriam also plays baroque violin and viola as a soloist and section member in the Tallahassee Bach Parley, a professional chamber ensemble that performs on period instruments. Summer festivals attended include Brevard Music Center and Schlern International Music Festival in Völs am Schlern, Italy.
This is Miriam’s fourth summer studying with Patricia McCarty at Meadowmount. She is pursuing a master’s degree at the Boston Conservatory.
Alexia DelGiudice Bigari, from Easton, Massachusetts, has been playing viola since the age of 10. She is currently in the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra and has been for 4 years. In 2009, Ms. Bigari won the Young Promise Awards for her performance of the Larsson Viola Concerto. In 2010, Alexia won the New York Viola Society Award.
In 2007, Alexia was a finalist in the New England String Ensemble Competition. During the summers of 2008 and 2009, Alexia traveled to Italy to take part in the Tuscia Opera Festival, where she played with the Orchestra of Rome. In 2007, Alexia performed with a chamber group for the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson. At home, Alexia studies with Kathy Almquist and her teacher at Meadowmount is Patricia McCarty.
Violist Marcus Rose was born in Inglewood, CA, and raised in Shreveport, LA. He showed musical interest at the age of four, embarking upon the piano, and began playing viola at age ten. He began studying with Borys Smolaga, Principal Violist of the Shreveport Symphony, at the age of thirteen. He has secured principal viola positions of the Caddo Magnet High Chamber Orchestra, Sewanee Symphony, Transylvania Symphony Orchestra at Brevard Music Center and the Louisiana All-State Orchestra. Other major orchestra appearances include the ASTA National Honor Orchestra, Marshall Symphony Orchestra, Shreveport Music Festival Orchestra, Shreveport Symphony, and Texarkana Symphony.
Marcus made his debut at the age of fifteen with the Marshall Symphony. He went on to win top prizes at the First Annual Texarkana Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, the Red River Radio Young Artist Competition, and the Marjorie Stricklin Emerging Artists Competition, and was a featured soloist at the Caddo Magnet High Concerto Concert.
He soloed at the age of sixteen with the Texarkana Symphony Orchestra. In November 2010, Marcus collaborated with famed pianist Christopher O’Reilly for a taping of NPR’s “From the Top,” and received a $10,000 Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award. As of 2011, he is a two-time Caddo Parish Magnet High School Distinguished Scholar for bringing national recognition to the school. This fall, he will attend the Juilliard School, studying with Heidi Castleman and Steven Tenenbom. He is a student of Patricia McCarty at Meadowmount.
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF MUSIC CLUBS SCHOLARSHIPS
Meadowmount thanks the National Federation of Music Clubs for these yearly scholarships awarded to outstanding Meadowmount students.
Abigail Fayette, 17, from Wadling River, New Jersey, began her violin studies at the age of three with Jo Schifter at North Shore Suzuki School, continued with Min-Young Kim of the Daedalus Quartet at School for Strings in NYC and was accepted into the Pre-College Division of the Juilliard School in 2004 as a scholarship student of Ms. Shirley Givens. Since fall 2009, Abigail has studied with Ann Setzer and Kyung-Wha Chung.
At the age of 10, she won the Pre-College Chamber Orchestra Mozart D Major Concerto Competition and made her Lincoln Center debut. She soloed with the Sound Symphony in its 2007 summer concert series and performed as soloist with the Bachanalia Orchestra. Recently she was awarded alternate in the 2010-2011 Juilliard Pre-College Orchestra Glazunov Violin Concerto Competition.
Abigail was chosen as one of 8 violinists to inaugurate a new chamber music program at Juilliard’s Pre-College in 2007. Her quartet performed as part of an outreach program for Midori and Friends. Most recently, her piano trio was selected by audition as the only Pre-College chamber music group to participate in the Juilliard College Division ChamberFest in January of 2010. She has been Concertmaster and Principal 2nd Violin of the Pre-College Chamber Orchestra, the Pre-College Symphony and Pre-College Orchestra.
In October of 2007, Abigail performed 6 Outreach Concerts in Texas in conjunction with the El Paso city schools and the El Paso Symphony, played a solo recital and performed with the El Paso Symphony Youth Orchestra. She currently has an instrument scholarship awarded by the Virtu Foundation. At Meadowmount she is a student of Ann Setzer.
Wei-Li Suen began studying piano at age ten in Ames, Iowa with Tatiana Erokhina and Larisa Kanevski. He is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) where he was a student of Dmitri Shteinberg. Recently, he won first prize in the 2011 Harold Protsman Classical Piano Competition judged by Leon Flescher; and as the winner of the 2010 VCU Concerto Competition and the 2009 Virginia Music Teachers Association Concerto Competition, he has appeared as the soloist with the VCU Symphony Orchestra as well as the James Madison University Symphony Orchestra. Wei-Li is the recipient of numerous awards and honors in the MTNA Virginia Young Artists Piano Competition and the Iowa Music Teachers Association Piano Auditions, and was featured as the guest artist in the 2007 Annual Ames Town & Gown Musicale.
Wei-Li is an active collaborator both at VCU and in the Richmond community; he has worked with the VCU Symphony Orchestra, VCU Symphonic Wind Ensemble, as well as the Richmond Philharmonic Orchestra. He served as associate staff accompanist at the 2009 Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival in Burlington, Vermont as well as the 2010 Virginia NATS Conference. He has also participated in masterclasses with renowned artists including: Pascal Rogé, Violaine Melançon, Barbara Nissman, Ralph Votapek, Maxim Phillipov, and Arnaldo Cohen. In the fall, he will be starting his Masters degree at the Manhattan School of Music as a student of Nina Svetlanova. Wei-Li Suen is a student of Eric Larsen at Meadowmount.
The following students received scholarships from sponsoring organizations and the Meadowmount School of Music. We are grateful to these organizations and individuals who support the arts.
DEKALB MUSIC BOOSTERS
Genevieve Smelser
FRIEDLAND AWARD
Miriam Barfield
FROM THE TOP
Marcus Rose
THE HAPPY CAMPER FOUNDATION
Timothy Nicholas
KALAMAZOO REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL SERVICE AGENCY
HANNA RUMORA
NAPLES MUSIC CLUB, INC
Jared Blajian
OAK PARK & RIVER FOREST HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI ASSOC. OAK PARK & RIVER FOREST COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
Lara Madden
ROBERT WOODRUFF ARTS CENTER, ATLANTIC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Andrew Cleveland
Keanu Mitanga
Myrtil Mitanga
Dana Wilson
Denielle Wilson
SCHOOL OF THE ARTS FOUNDATION
Ericsson Hatfield
SUFFOLK COUNTY MUSIC EDUCATORS’ ASSOCIATION, INC.
Abigail Fayette
Donations
Each year the number of students requesting financial assistance exceeds our ability to meet the demand. Unfortunately this causes truly qualified and gifted students to be unable to attend to further their musical development at Meadowmount. Please consider making a contribution to our scholarship fund. Donations are fully tax deductible as Meadowmount is a 501(C)3 non-profit organization.
Sponsor a Student
There are many merit worthy students in need of sponsorship to attend Meadowmount and receive the training and guidance they need for their musical careers. To become a sponsor contact our office at (518) 962-2400. You can also contact us by email (admissions@meadowmount.com) or letter stating your desire to sponsor a student. Sponsorship covers full tuition for a student in the amount of $3,300 to $6,200. We will match you to a student showing a high level of merit and need. At the end of the summer we will send a Sponsorship Packet to you including the student’s name, name and biography, as well as programs and recording of his/her concert performances during the summer.
Sponsor a Work Scholarship Recipient
Several students are awarded work scholarships to help finance their expenses while at Meadowmount. Work Scholarships are awarded on the basis of merit to students who attend full time. We have opportunities in food service, recording, video, stage, mail, office work, snack bar, concert staffing, programs and more. Each work scholarship is valued at $600. Please contact us at (518) 962-2400 for more information about sponsoring a worker.
Fellowships
The Meadowmount School of Music has created Fellowships to honor the memories of Founder, Ivan Galamian, his wife Judith Galamian and founding faculty members Josef Gingold, Leonard Rose and Gregor Piatigorsky. Please visit the Distinguished Meadowmount Alumni page for more information.