News


Honors Recital
05/01/2014
Shields Audition winners and selected students from FCC’s music program will perform an Honors Recital of varied repertoire at 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 11, in the Jack B. Kussmaul Theater. Admission is free.  

The Honors Artists are  students of Aaron Lovely, Pat Franz, Dana Rokosny, David Loy, Alice Lee, Mary Gresock, Jennifer Rundlett and Paula Chipman and John Wickelgren.
 
Brief bios are listed below.
 
A Shields Scholarship recipient, Chloe Lenker is an 8th grade honor student at Windsor Knolls Middle School. She has played trombone since 4th grade. She has been a member of Frederick Regional Youth Orchestra and the Academy of Saint Cecilia Youth Orchestra. She is an award-winning Irish dancer and also enjoys singing, acting and playing tennis. She has performed with the Damascus Theater Company in numerous productions, including The Nutcracker, Aladdin Jr. and Fiddler on the Roof Jr.
 
A Shields Scholarship recipient for the past 3 years, Blair De LaRosa has played baritone and euphonium for 4 years.  Blair was awarded 1st chair euphonium in both 6th and 7th grades for the Frederick County Middle School All-County Band.  He received a “1” rating at both 2013 County and State solo and ensemble festivals. He is also the recipient of the Sperry Storm Scholarship for participation in the Frederick Regional Youth Orchestra, where he has been a member for 3 years.  Blair is currently a 7th-grade student at Ballenger Creek Middle School, where he participates with the school band and orchestra.
 
Allie Peterson, age 15 and a senior in high school, has been studying piano for almost 11 years, in the studios of Karen Skelly, Ruth Carson, Kuei-I Wu and, since 2011, Dr. Alice Lee. Allie hopes to attend Frederick Community College in the fall semester and work towards an Associate of Arts degree. She lives in Frederick with her family.

RayLee Peterson, age 16 and sister to Allie Peterson, is a freshman at Frederick Community College, where she is working towards an Associate of Arts degree in music. She has studied piano for almost 11 years, in the studios of Karen Skelly, Ruth Carson, Kuei-I Wu, and since 2011, Dr. Alice Lee. In addition to piano, RayLee plays the flute. She is a member of FCC’s Flute Choir and the orchestra at her church, Frederick Church of the Brethren. She also sings in the Choral Arts Society of Frederick. RayLee plans to transfer to a four-year institution or work as a pianist in a military service band.
 
Sarah Robinson, age 15, is an honor student in 10th grade at Urbana High School.  She has been a voice student at Frederick Community College, in the studio of Mary Gresock, for 10 years.  Having been honored as “Miss Northern Maryland Outstanding Teen 2014,” she will represent Northern Maryland at the Miss Maryland’s Outstanding Teen pageant in Hagerstown in June. In addition to singing, Sarah enjoys musical theater and has been in several community and school productions.  She is member of the Urbana High School Show Choir and Chamber Ensemble and is also a UHS cheerleader.
 
Shaun KewalRamani, age 11, is in 6th grade at Urbana Middle School, where he plays the piano in his school orchestra. A Shields Scholarship recipient for the past 4 years, he has studied with Patricia Franz at FCC since 2009. A student of TaeKwonDo, he has earned the rank of black belt and assists in the instruction of junior students.

Kevin Li, age 10, has played piano for 3 years. A 5th grade student in the Urbana Elementary School Magnet program, he is also a strong tennis player and likes basketball and football. Favorite hobbies include video gaming and listening to music. His favorite singer is Bruno Mars.
 
Katey Althoff, beginning violin study at age 7, has played for 11 years. At age 10, she joined the Frederick Regional Youth Orchestra and attended Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. She has played for the Baltimore Symphony Youth Orchestras and the Frederick Symphony Orchestra. Currently, she is in the Young Artists of America and the Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras Philharmonic. In 2013, she attended Wintergreen Performing Arts Summer Academy in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, and in summer 2014 she will work toward Suzuki teacher certification. Her activities beyond music include swimming, basketball, jump-rope teams, ballet and the Epsilon Nu Honors Society, via home-schooling. When not practicing, she enjoys reading, the outdoors, and being with friends and family. Having studied college-level music at FCC for the past two years, she will transfer in the fall to a four-year school to pursue a degree in Music Performance, and then launch a career in performing and teaching.
 
Matthew Jefferson has studied voice with David Loy for 2 years. He also studies piano and violin and is a member of FCC’s String Ensemble. He performs as a musician with his church and enjoys writing and attending concerts.
 
Emma Shirey, a 9th grader at Urbana High School, has participated in her school's productions of "Curtains" and "Alice in Wonderland." Her musical theatre credits include:  Ariel in "The Little Mermaid," Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz," Miss Hannigan in "Annie," the Mother Abbess in "The Sound of Music," and Adelaide in "Guys and Dolls."  She has also performed in Way off Broadway productions of "Cinderella" and "A Christmas Carol." She will be inducted into the International Thespian Society in 2014. She has studied voice with David Loy since 2010.
 
Alexander Jackson, a 6th grader at Monocacy Middle School and a Shields Scholarship recipient, studies flute with Jennifer Rundlett. He also plays with his school Band and Jazz Band and is a member of the Frederick Regional Youth Orchestra. Along with his musical activities, he enjoys soccer and is an active Boy Scout participant.
 
Hannah Willman, age 13, has played piano for 11 years and taken lessons for 5 years, including this year at FCC with Dr. John Wickelgren. At age 3, Hannah tried to play music her sister was learning and became proficient playing by ear.  She says, “My goal is to become very good at playing the piano and really push myself to do my very best.” Hannah is a Shields Scholarship recipient.
Rachel Willman, age 17 and a Shields Scholarship recipient, has studied voice for 3 years.  Proficient with classical, rock and contemporary acoustic genres, she also loves to play guitar and compose music.  Her dream is to pursue contemporary performing and songwriting.
 
Clayton Holdcroft, a home-schooled 16-year-old, has studied piano since age 5.  A piano student for the past 5 years in the studio of Dr. John Wickelgren, he is a Shields Scholarship recipient.  This summer Clayton plans to attend the Golandsky Institute International Piano Symposium at Princeton University to study further the Taubman piano technique.  A life-ranking Boy Scout, he is currently working toward the Eagle Scout rank. He enjoys the computer classes that he has taken at FCC. His other interests include reading, tennis and fresh-water fishing. 
 

 

 

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