DOROTHY RICHARD STARLING FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIPS

The nationally recognized Starling Foundation, whose mission is to support leading American violin teachers and their studios, has chosen to add the studio of Jan 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.

The Meadowmount School of Music 2017 Award Recipients

John Fawcett is a 16-year-old violinist from Bend, Oregon. He has been playing the violin since age 5. He currently studies with Kathryn Lucktenberg at the University of Oregon and Jan Mark Sloman.

He made his solo orchestral debut at age nine. He has since been a winner of multiple music competitions, and has been a soloist with the Central Oregon Symphony, Sunriver Music Festival Orchestra, YAD! Orchestra, Oregon Mozart Players, and Pink Martini. He has performed in Carnegie Hall as concertmaster of the Central Oregon Youth Orchestra. He is a member of the Central Oregon Chamber Orchestra, Central Oregon Symphony, OperaBend Orchestra, and the Phoenix Quartet.

He is also a pianist with an interest in collaborative piano. He is supported by a Sunriver Music Festival Young Artist Scholarship. In his free time, John enjoys soccer and playing with his two dogs. At Meadowmount, John studies with Jan Mark Sloman.

Ria Honda is a scholarship recipient Fellow at the Academy of the Music Institute of Chicago where she studies violin with Almita Vamos. She received the Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation Scholarship from 2008-2014 and has been a top prize winner in numerous competitions including the Coeur d'Alene Symphony Young Artist Competition, Sammamish Symphony Concerto Competition, Sejong Music Competition and won first prize at the Seattle Music Teachers Association Simon Fiset Competition, DePaul Concerto Festival, and Cascade Symphony Rising Star Competition, and MTNA competition. She has been featured on WFMT's Introductions and named a 2017 YoungArts Winner.

Ria has performed with the Seattle Festival Orchestra, Cascade Symphony Orchestra, the Oistrakh Symphony, and the Seattle Symphony as the winner of their 2014 Young Artists Auditions. Ria has participated in master classes and lessons with Frank Almond, Ray Chen, Tong-Wei Dong, Grigory Kalinovsky, Leonid Kerbel, Ani Kavafian, David Nadien, Stephan Picard, Joseph Silverstein, Pavel Vernikov, Yo-Yo Ma, and the Ying Quartet. She has attended the Meadowmount School of Music and The Institute for Strings as a full-scholarship recipient, Musica Mundi music festival, and MusicAlp Académie Internationale de Musique à Tignes. Ria was 1st prize winner at the 2015 Naperville Women's Club Young Adult Music Competition, Grand, 1st, and 3rd prize winner at the Pearl G. Barnett Chamber Music Competition, finalist at the St. Paul String Quartet Competition, and semifinalist at the 2015 and 2016 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competitions. At Meadowmount, Ria is a student of Jan Mark Sloman.

Danny Yehun Jin was born in Seoul, South Korea and started to play the violin at the age of three. He made his debut with the Seoul Royal Symphony as a soloist at the age of nine and later finished the preliminary schooling at the Korean National University of Arts in 2009, and then attended the Korean National School until 2011. Since then he has been studying at the Curtis Institute of Music with Ida Kavafian.

Among his accomplishments, Yehun has performed with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra in 2011, the Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra in 2010 and the KBS chamber Orchestra in 2009. As a chamber musician, he has also performed in the national museum in Daegu and for the prime minister of Malaysia in 2011. Yehun is a prize winner of several competitions; he has won the grand prize at the Kyunggi Province music competition, 1st prize at the Yewon competition, 1st prize at the Siheung competition, 1st prize at the SungJung competition, 1st prize at the Ewha and Kyunghyang competition, and the 5th prize at the 2012 Menuhin Competition. At Meadowmount, Yehun studies with Jan Mark Sloman.

Megan Lin, violin soloist, was born on November 5th, 2000. She started learning violin at the age of 4, and at age 8 she starting learning piano. In 2010 she got Honorable Mention in the Collin County Young Artist Competition Junior Violin division and in 2016, she won third prize in the Juanita Miller Concerto Competition. She also won first prize in the Dallas Symphonic Festival in 2016. She received 2nd place in TMEA Trophy Competition for piano in 2011, and Honorable Mention in 2012.

Over the years, Megan has joined 3 different youth orchestras. First was DAAYO (Dallas Asian American Youth Orchestra) in 2006, and 2 years later she joined GDYO (Greater Dallas Youth Orchestras). In 2012, she played in the New Conservatory of Dallas until its disbandment in 2014. Megan studies with Jan Mark Sloman in Dallas, Texas and at Meadowmount.

Christina Jihee Nam, 14, is a 9th grader at Cincinnati Walnut Hills High School. She studies with Kurt Sassmannshaus in the Cincinnati Starling Project and Amy J. Lee, associate concertmaster of Cleveland Orchestra. Christina is concertmaster of the Starling Chamber Orchestra, Walnut Hills High Chamber Orchestra, and a member of the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra.

At 9, Christina made her solo debut with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. She has also soloed with the Great Wall Soloists, Seven Hills Sinfonietta, PIMF Orchestra, Miami Valley Symphony Orchestra, and Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, among others. Christina won 1st prizes of Forte Strings Competition, Louisville Orchestra Young Artists Competition, Sejong Music Competition, Clark J. Haines Concerto Competition, Jack/Lucille Wonnell Young Artist Competition, Lakeland Young Artist Competition, MVSO Concerto Competition, HFSO Young Artist Competition, Clifton Music Club Competition, and PIMF Concerto and Bach Double Competitions.

In 2016, Christina was a semifinalist of the Louis Spohr International Competition for Young Violinists in Germany. Christina has participated at the Philadelphia International Music Festival, CYA Chamber Festival, Pacific Region International Summer Music Academy, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Harpa International Music Academy and Great Wall International Music Academy. She has appeared twice on NPR's From the Top with Christopher O'Riley, and Showcase with Barbara Kellar, PBS/CET. At Meadowmount, Christina studies with Jan Mark Sloman.

Kiarra Saito-Beckman, 18, is a violinist from Bend, Oregon. She is a rising junior at the Cleveland Institute of Music where she studies with Jaime Laredo and Jan Mark Sloman. Kiarra has won numerous awards and competitions. In May of 2016 she was a semi-finalist in the Stulberg International String Competition. She placed first in the 2015 National Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Senior Strings Competition, held in Las Vegas, Nevada. In 2014, Kiarra was named the PepsiCo National Young Artist of the Year as the first-prize winner of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra's National Young Artist Competition in South Carolina. Also in 2014, Kiarra placed second in the ENKOR International Violin and Piano Competition, as well as second in the Young Artist National Competition held by the Coeur d'Alene Symphony Orchestra.

Kiarra has appeared as a guest soloist with the Las Colinas, Garland, Coeur d'Alene (Idaho) and Charleston Symphony Orchestras as well as Symphony Arlington, and an orchestra composed of members of the Oregon Symphony and the Oregon Ballet Theater Orchestra. She has twice been featured as a guest soloist with the Central Oregon Symphony. Upcoming engagements include performances of the Brahms Violin Concerto with the Las Colinas Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Arlington, and Garland Symphony in February of 2019. In the fall of 2014, Kiarra was invited to Washington DC to perform Franz Waxman's "Carmen" Fantasy on the National Public Radio program, From the Top, which features the country's finest young classical musicians. She has also been a featured performer on Oregon Public Broadcasting radio program, State of Wonder, as well as the Portland, Oregon-based station, All Classical, TedxBend, and most recently the Cleveland-based classical radio station, WCLV. As a violinist, Kiarra is a recipient of the Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award. She has attended the Meadowmount School of Music for the past six summers and the National Arts Centre Young Artist Program in Ottawa, Canada in the summer of 2016. At Meadowmount, Kiarra is a student of Jan Mark Sloman.

Soojeong Yoon currently studies with Jaime Laredo at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Among her accomplishments, she has won 2nd prize at both the Ewha and Kyunghyang Music Competitions. At Meadowmount, Soojeong studies with Jan Mark Sloman.

FOUNDATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF STRING EDUCATION

The Meadowmount viola studio of Patricia McCarty has been awarded a grant from the Foundation for the Advancement of String Education, Inc., a non-profit educational organization dedicated to the promotion and development of string education through financial support, teacher training and promoting the philosophy of Dr. George Bornoff.

http://www.fase.org/about-bornoff/

The 2017 FASE Award Recipients: 

Miriam Barfield began studying the violin at age six with Melissa Brewer. She received her Bachelor of Music from Florida State University, where she studied with Dr. Pamela Ryan, and completed a Master of Music in Viola Performance at The Boston Conservatory under Patricia McCarty. She was a state winner for the ASTA National Solo Competition in 2010 (Massachusetts) and in 2008 (Florida) and has performed in master classes for Joseph Silverstein, Robert Spano, James Dunham, and Thomas Dumm.

She has been a member of many orchestras, including the Tallahassee Symphony, the Columbus (GA) Symphony, the Albany (GA) Symphony (as principal), the Mobile Symphony, and the Cape Ann Symphony (MA). Miriam has attended the Lucerne Festival Academy in Switzerland, Brevard Music Festival, and the Schlern International Music Festival in Italy. She continues her studies with Patricia McCarty at Meadowmount.

Juan Du was born in a musical family in Shanxi, China and studied the violin at the age of 4 with her father. In 2009, she was admitted to the The Middle School attached to Xinghai Conservatory of Music in Guangzhou, studied with Mr. Donglei Hou and changed her instrument to viola. She has also studied under Mr. Roberto Diaz and Ms. Teng Li in Beijing. Du won third prize in the "Young Musician of the Year 2010 Instrumental String Open Class Competitions" in HongKong. In 2013, Du was the semifinalist of Thirty-Eighth Annual Stulberg International String Competition in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In the summers of 2013, 2014 and 2015, she attended MorningSide Music Bridge in Calgary, Canada. Du was also the winner of the MorningSide Music Bridge Concerto Competition.

In 2014, Du was admitted to The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts with full scholarships and studied with Mr. Ivan Chan. During her academy years, she studied under Mr. Steven Tenenbom and performed Mendelssohn’s String Octet, Op. 20, with the Bard Quartet. In the summer of 2015, Du attended Kent Blossom Music Festival in Kent, Ohio, and studied under Mr. Robert Vernon and Mr. Stan Konopka. She served as principal viola in the KBMF Chamber Orchestra and performed at The Blossom Music Center. Du also performed side-by-side in a concert with The Cleveland Orchestra and served as associate principal viola. Ms. Du Studies with Patricia McCarty at Meadowmount.

David Padilla has performed with the North Jersey School Music Association Region 1 Intermediate Orchestra, where he played as associate principal violist, and the North Jersey Music Educators Association All-State Junior High School Orchestra. He is a former member of the Northern New Jersey Youth Orchestra, where he was their principal violist, as well as the William Paterson Symphony and Chamber Orchestras.

In 2014 and 2015, David participated in the ASTA/Chamber Music Institute, a summer camp where he studied chamber music with world class artists such as solo pianist Alison Brewster Franzetti, and Associate Concertmaster of the New Jersey Symphony Brennan Sweet. David is also a member of the New York Youth Symphony Chamber Program where he attends weekly masterclasses and studies chamber music intensively under Caitlin Lynch of the Juilliard School.

David has attended the Meadowmount School of Music, one of the most prestigious string festivals in the nation; there he studies with former violist of the Boston Symphony, Patricia McCarty. He also studied chamber music under Mrs. McCarty and performed in solo masterclasses and chamber masterclasses under guest artists such as Paul Katz of the Cleveland Quartet. A dedicated student at the Juilliard Music Advancement Program, David attends weekly chamber music coachings, composition classes and orchestra rehearsals as part of his studies. He currently studies privately with Craig Mumm, Associate Principal Violist of the Metropolitan Opera. David is also a member of the Back to Bach project - a project dedicated to bringing classical music to young children with the goal of inspiring them to make classical music a part of their lives in the future.

Aaron Rosengaus is a Bay Area native, and currently lives in San Francisco. He has been a Fellow at the Mendocino and Silicon Valley Music Fesitvals, and has performed as a soloist with San Francisco State University Symphony Orchestra. Aaron studied Viola at the Boston Conservatory under the tutelage of Patricia McCarty, and at San Francisco State University with Paul Yarbrough and Zakarias Grafilo of the Alexander String Quartet.

As a member of Elevate Ensemble, Aaron has premiered works by Nicholas Lell Benivides and Danny Clay. A serious pedagogue, Aaron maintains a studio of 30 students in Mountainview California, and his students perform in numerous youth orchestras in the Bay Area, including El Camino Youth Symphony, Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra, Peninsula Youth Orchestra, and California Youth Symphony. His graduated students have gone on to study at Boston University, USC, UCLA, UC Davis, and Carnegie Mellon. At Meadowmount, Aaron is a student of Patricia McCarty.

National Federation of Music Clubs

Meadowmount thanks the National Federation of Music Clubs for this yearly scholarship awarded to outstanding Meadowmount students.

Camden Archambeau, 15, is a sophomore at Weston High School in Weston, CT. Camden is in his 2nd year with the New York Youth Symphony and served as Assistant Principal Cellist in 2017. He served 3 years as Principal Cellist of the Danbury Community Orchestra and was a member of the Danbury Symphony Orchestra.

Summer music programs attended include Interlochen, National Arts Centre of Canada, Long Island University Post, Music at Port Milford and Danbury Music Centre. Camden won the 2016 LIU Post Chamber Music Festival Concerto Competition and was a finalist in the Greater Bridgeport Symphony, Norwalk Symphony and Danbury Symphony Concerto Competitions.

Recent Master Class performances include those for Allison Eldridge, Nicholas Canelakis, Hans Jorgen Jensen, Carole Sirois, Michael Katz, Richard Belcher, Mihai Marica and Kate Owen.

Camden was a chorister for 6 years with the Christ Church Greenwich Choir of Men and Boys, performing as a treble/cello soloist and chamber musician. Camden volunteers with Music for Youth's Residency Program performing for and coaching Bridgeport Public School string students. Camden started cello at age 5 and is a student of Sieun Lin and Adam Grabois. Besides music, Camden enjoys writing, history and competitive swimming. At Meadowmount, Camden studies with Jonathan Koh.

Judith Haskell Brewer Fund of the Community Foundation

Violinist Steven Song, 18, is a scholarship recipient at the Music Institute of Chicago Academy program. Steven currently studies with Gerardo Ribeiro. Previously, he studied with Jin Zhang for 7 years.

Steven has received awards from competitions such as the Geneva Granquist Music Competition, the Walgreens National Concerto Competition, the DePaul Concerto Festival, and the Society of American Musicians competition. He also participated in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Steven has long time been a part of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras (CYSO) and has attended the Meadowmount School of Music in upstate New York on merit scholarship.

Mr. Song has played in masterclass for James Ehnes, William van der Sloot, Tong Wei Dong, Frank Almond, Ilya Kaler, Gudny Gudmundsdottir, Joseph Silverstein, and Noah Bendix-Balgley. In addition to violin, he has studied piano for many years, appearing once on WFMT 98.7 and placing in the Steinway Piano Competition.

Outside of music, Steven enjoys being with friends and playing sports. At Meadowmount, Steven studies with Gerardo Ribeiro.

Steven Song is honored to receive the Judith Haskell Brewer Fund at the Community Foundation.

The following students received scholarships from sponsoring organizations. We are grateful to these organizations and individuals who support the arts.

Charleston Symphony Orchestra League
Ashley Yoon

Kent Cooke Scholarship - From The Top
Adam Lee