2012 Scholarship Winners
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF OUR 2012 LISFA AWARD & SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS!!
LISFA MEMORIAL AWARD
Ayodele Dechinea
I have played the viola for the past 10 years. When I first started in the third grade it felt like more of a burden than a passion. However, I stuck to it and by the 5th grade I was first chair violist, and from then I knew that I saw a solid future with the viola. I participated in the NYSSMA festival during 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th grade. From the 6th grade I can remember trying to get out of class or skipping lunch to practice in the music wing. High school is when I really grew as a musician. I played in the concert orchestra in 9th grade, then the select strings orchestra in 10th, 11th, and 12th grade. When I took music theory in tenth grade an entirely new dimension of music revealed itself. I found myself analyzing the music we play during class, the music I hear on the radio, and the music I hear at home. Junior year, I participated in the LISFA festival and received a 98 on my All State solo. Senior brought with it the LISFA festival, and the LISFA chamber festival. Traveling was also a fun part of playing in the select strings orchestra. I played on amazing stages in Montreal, Canada, Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Boston, Massachusetts. I couldn’t have been the player I am today without the amazing guidance of Uniondale school district’s music department, and exceptional teachers like Ms. Margaritis, Mr. Vegas, Mrs. Worrilow, Ms. Weber, Ms. Flipse, and Mrs. Boardman. I have grown to love music and appreciate how it goes beyond the notes on the page but the emotion, and technique behind it. I know for a fact that music and the viola will always be a part of my life.
LISFA MEMORIAL AWARD
Daniel Wang
Daniel Wang, 17, is currently a senior at W.T. Clarke High School and currently studies with Barbara Weber. He began studying the violin at the age of 6. As an active orchestral musician, he has participated in the Long Island String Festival and All-County Symphony Orchestra on a yearly basis since 5th grade. He has also been a member of the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of New York for 8 years and is the concertmaster of Nassau Principal Orchestra. In 2010, Daniel was nominated to perform with the American High School Honors Performance Series at Carnegie Hall and was selected for the NYSSMA All-State String Orchestra in 2011. In June 2012, Daniel was selected as one of four violinists from New York State for the NAfME All-National Honors Symphony Orchestra, where he performed at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington D.C. under the direction of Dr. David Becker. Through his orchestral experiences, Daniel has played alongside members of the New York Philharmonic and the American Symphony Orchestra and has performed at venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Eastman Theatre. In addition to orchestral playing, Daniel is also involved in chamber music. Most notably, he was the first violinist if the Emerald String Quartet for five years. The quartet was the four-time winner of the Chamber Music Society’s Young Musicians Program competition, performing works by Dvorak, Beethoven, and Schubert at Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Hall at Kaufman Center, and the Rose Studio at the Juilliard School. As a chamber musician, Daniel has participated in coaching sessions with Anton Polezhayev, Erin Keefe, Todd Phillips and Daniel Philips of the Orion String Quartet, Pierre LaPointe of the Escher String Quartet, and Weigang Li of the Shanghai Quartet. Daniel is the vice president of his school’s Tri-M Music Honor Society Chapter, which was runner-up for National Chapter of the Year for the 2011-2012 school year. He actively performs in community outreach concerts with fellow musicians at local hospitals and senior citizen homes. Daniel is grateful for the help and support of his friends, family, and mentors and hopes to continue his music studies in college.
LISFA MEMORIAL AWARD
Carol Lee
Carol Lee, a student at Half Hollow Hill High School East, has been immersed in music since a very early age. She is both a pianist and violist beginning piano at age 3 and viola at age 10. Since 2006, she has been attending the Mannes the New School Preparatory Division where she studies music theory and also plays chamber music. She is currently playing in the Mannes Philharmonic Orchestra. Since 2011, Carol Lee has been in the Mannes Honors Program for viola. At her school, Carol is a member of the Half Hollow Hills Cross Campus Chamber orchestra. She has also been attending the annual LISFA festival every year since 2005. During her summers, Carol Lee has continued to pursue musical activities. During the summers of 2008 and 2009, she attended Point Counter Point Music Camp. The following two years, she went to Kinhaven Music School. During the summer of 2012, she attended the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. Carol Lee aspires to continue musical activities and to grow as a musician.
LISFA MEMORIAL AWARD
Zachary Brown
LISFA SUMMER MUSIC SCHOLARSHIP
Madeleine Kestler-DeWan
Madeleine is 11 and will be entering sixth grade at Northport Middle School in the fall. She started playing piano when she was five, and began the violin in first grade. She now plays violin exclusively. She currently takes private lessons with Karen Romeo and plays in the Gemini Youth Orchestra. She was nominated this year for participation in SCMEA for both voice and violin and was chosen as a first violin for SCMEA. She was also chosen as a first violin for LISFA. Madeleine recently participated in NYSSMA for both voice and violin. Madeleine has both a little brother and little sister who are eager to follow in her musical footsteps.
LISFA SUMMER MUSIC SCHOLARSHIP
Jennifer Halpern
Jennifer Halpern began playing the viola at age nine during Northport Summer Music Program in 2010. From the beginning she showed a natural talent and dedication. Jennifer also enjoyed participating in Northport Summer Music in 2011 and 2012 for both viola lessons and orchestra. She was very excited to be awarded the LISFA scholarship for the 2012 Summer Music Program.In addition to her lessons with Kathleen Vitevitch and her participation in the Dickinson Orchestra in for two years, Jennifer participated in NYSSMA in both 2011 and 2012. Tri-M Music Honor Society Tutor Esther Park helped her prepare for both NYSSMA solos. For Jennifer’s 2012 solo she performed Bourree by J.S.Bach. She spent many diligent hours learning this challenging level 3 piece.Jennifer was excited to participate in LISFA in 2012. She loved learning the LISFA pieces and preforming them in the concert with her fellow musicians. She is excited by new challenges and continues to grow and develop into an accomplished Violist.
LISFA SUMMER MUSIC SCHOLARSHIP
Jaclyn Gonzalez
LISFA SUMMER MUSIC SCHOLARSHIP
Sarah Londono
LISFA PRIVATE STUDY GRANT
Emmanuel Berbari
LISFA PRIVATE STUDY GRANTEmmanuele will be entering 8th grade in September 2012. He attends OldField Middle School in the Harborfields School District. Emmanuele began his interest in music by playing the guitar at 7 years old and then joined the school orchestra in 4th grade where he has always loved the bass! Mr. Walter has been his orchestra teacher ever since! He began lessons with Mrs. Gellert in the Spring of 2012.He has been selected for LISFA twice; in 5th grade and in 7th grade. He has been selected for SCMEA in 5th grade as well. He also loves to play sports!
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LISFA PRIVATE STUDY GRANT
Sami Habib
Sami Habib wanted to play music since he could talk. He asked for a tacar with real strings at age 2. This was how he said guitar. He composed his first musical piece called “One World” that he performed on the piano in kindergarten during a school recital. He took violin lessons in kindergarten and first grade. When Sami was in second grade he heard a cello for the first time. He was transfixed and made it his goal to play it beautifully. He has worked at his cello for the past 5 years and loves it. He has performed in LIFSA and SCHEMEA orchestras. Sami also plays lead electric guitar and drums. Outside the musical world Sami likes to act, direct, write, play soccer, football, and basketball. He is thrilled and honored with being selected for the LIFSA scholarship.
LISFA STUDIO AWARD
Austin Mark Bates
Austin Mark Bates is a fifteen-year-old violinist and honor student who attends Connetquot High School in Ronkonkoma, NY. For 2011-2012, Austin was concertmaster in the school’s string ensemble. Austin’s passion for playing the violin began at the age of eight. Since then Austin has consistently achieved high merit at NYSSMA. This has enabled Austin to participate yearly in the LISFA and SCMEA music festivals. Presently, Austin is a member of The Metropolitan Youth Orchestra’s Suffolk Principal Orchestra under the direction of the conductor, Phil Preddice. Participating with the MYO orchestra has allowed Austin the opportunity and honor to perform at both Lincoln Center in 2011 and Carnegie Hall in 2012. As a result of Austin’s fine achievements, he was recently inducted into his school’s TRI-M Music Honor Society. Each summer since 2010, Austin has attended the Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts in Wheatley Heights, NY. Austin believes that his success would not be possible without the encouragement and unconditional support of his mom and all the dedicated music educators that have inspired him over the years. Austin’s future plans consist of pursuing his studies with a focus in Science and Music.
LISFA STUDIO AWARD
Gabrielle Davis
My name is Gabrielle Davis. I am 13 years old and I am the valedictorian graduate of Westbury Middle Schools graduating class of 2012. I have been playing the violin for the past 6 years and I enjoy playing the violin very much. Since I have been playing the violin I have participated in NYSSMA for the past five years. My NYSSMA scores have allowed me to partake in LISFA three times and All County twice. I have also been attending USDAN Center of the Performing Arts for the past five summers on a violin scholarship. I am so grateful to have been given this scholarship.
LISFA STUDIO AWARD
Gregory Stebbins
Gregory is entering the tenth grade at Paul D. Schreiber High School in Port Washington, New York. In 2005 he began playing the ‘cello in the Guggenheim Elementary School Orchestra under the guidance of Mrs. Vicki Fields, and the following year started studying privately with Mr. Nicholas Anderson at the New York Academy of Music in Manhasset. In 2011 he performed with the Freshman Orchestra directed by Mrs. Carol Garofalo, and after a successful audition qualified for the Symphonic Orchestra at Schreiber, directed by Mr. Anthony Pinelli. A consistently high-scoring performer in the NYSSMA string festival, Gregory has the honor to have been selected to perform with the Long Island String Festival Orchestras in 2010 and 2011 as well as several Nassau All-County Orchestras. The fall of 2012 marks the beginning of his third year in the ‘cello section of the Metropolitan Youth Orchestras as a member of Symphony Orchestra. Gregory furthered his music studies at the Ithaca Summer Music Academy the summer of 2012. In addition to playing the electric bass and banjo, Gregory is a member of the Congregational Church of Manhasset, is currently the Commodore of the Manhasset Bay Junior Yacht Club, participates in Boy Scouts and is also an avid Laser sailor, bicyclist and long boarder.
