Sharon Holmes Scholarship
Photo Credit: Ed Black
Sharon Holmes ASTA/NJ Scholarship Winners: Angel Liu, Victoria Rogers, EuGene Park, & Kimberley Davis
The Sharon Holmes ASTA/NJ Scholarship
2012 Application Update
Sharon Holmes was a violinist, teacher and a tireless advocate for the value of string education in New Jersey. She was a longtime member and friend of the New Jersey Chapter of the American String Teacher’s Association, serving as treasurer and membership director. Sharon taught in the School District of the Chathams for seventeen years, where she built up a successful string program. She was also a violinist with a number of New Jersey’s professional orchestras including the Colonial Symphony, the New Jersey State Opera Orchestra, the Paper Mill Playhouse, the Princeton Symphony and the Westfield Symphony.
The Sharon Holmes ASTA/NJ Scholarship Fund has been set up in her memory to help young New Jersey string students pursue a career in string teaching. An award of $2000 will be given annually to a New Jersey student in his/her senior year of high school planning a career in string education. The award will be presented in 2 installments. The first installment of $1000 will be presented in June of 2012 at the ASTA/NJ Awards Luncheon and the second installment upon completion of the first year of study, providing the candidate maintains a B average or better. The successful candidate will also receive a year of ASTA membership.
The full application is available on-line at www.astanj.com as a pdf file download; click here to be directed to the application. Interested applicants should complete the application, compose the essay and submit a CD of their playing by April 6, 2012.
For more details contact Rona Landrigan at rlviolin28@gmail.com.
The Sharon Holmes ASTA/NJ 2011 Scholarship News & Update
by Rona Landrigan
At the ASTA/NJ Annual Awards Dinner on June 5, 2011, held at the home of Dr. Zufall in Mountain Lakes, ASTA/NJ was proud to welcome the Sharon Holmes ASTA/NJ Scholarship recipients and their families.
The Sharon Holmes ASTA/NJ 2011 Scholarship recipient is:
Yumi Emma Lee, violinist, Tenafly High School
In the spirit of the scholarship, Yumi demonstrates a high level of musicianship and commitment to teaching. She appreciates and has been inspired by the dedication and creativity of her own teachers and is excited about sharing this love of music with young people.
Yumi is a certified cadet teacher through the ASTA/NJ cadet teacher program. She enjoys playing in the Good Neighbor Ensemble and the Bergen Youth Orchestra. Yumi’s orchestral experience also includes her membership in North Jersey Region I Junior & Senior Orchestras and NJ All-State Orchestra. Yumi enjoys playing chamber music in the summer and has participated in a string quartet at Waterville Music Center, playing such repertoire as Borodin String Quartet. Yumi also studies piano.Yumi Lee will be attending New York University to major in music education (violin) in the fall.
It was a pleasure to meet up with Kimberley Davis, one of the 2010 co-recipients of the Scholarship and have the opportunity to present her with the second installment of her scholarship. Kimberley had a successful first year at Bucknell University as a music education (violin) major.
Angel Liu, also receiving the second installment of her scholarship at this time was unable to attend, but we congratulate her in completing her successful freshman year at Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts as a music education (violin) major.
We look forward to publishing essays each girl wrote about their experiences as college freshmen. Kimberley & Angel offer some very insightful advice for young people considering embarking on a career in music education.
Congratulations to our Sharon Holmes ASTA/NJ Scholarship winners! We wish Yumi, Kimberley and Angel every success in their studies.
Sharon Holmes ASTA/NJ Scholarship Winners Write About Their Experiences as Music Education Majors
The Sharon Holmes ASTA/NJ Scholarship Committee tasked the 2009 scholarship winners to write a short essay for our on-line newsletter about their experiences as music education majors, thinking about advice they might give to high school students who may be considering pursuing a career in music education.
They were invited to use anecdotal examples from their freshman year experience and to write about something that has particularly surprised or impressed them about their studies in the music education field.
Read Essays by EuGene Park, Victoria Rogers and Rebecca Dreyman (click on name of student to download essay).
