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The UMass Amherst Department of Music & Dance held its annual Convocation on May 5 to honor its music scholarship award winners and graduates. The event was held by Zoom videoconference – the winning students and link to the Convocation video are listed below, and the event program can be viewed here.

Hosted by department chair Salvatore Macchia, the Convocation included virtual performances by vocalist Natalie Lewis, last year’s Howard Lebow Memorial Scholarship winner, and saxophonist Zoe Stinson, the 2020 Theodore Presser Scholar. Ms. Lewis and pianist Kristen Flanagan performed a musical setting of Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem, “Sympathy” by Florence Price, the first African-American woman to be recognized as a symphonic composer.  Ms. Stinson performed a duet with clarinetist Rongbing Shen titled “Circling” by contemporary composer Yunfei Li. Ms. Shen also offered inspirational remarks on the unique challenges faced by the class of 2021 during the past year.

The Dance Program’s Senior Recognition Event took place on May 12, and included choreographer and Guggenheim Fellow Andrea Miller as the guest speaker; Dance program director Tom Vacanti was the host. Allana Scudder was the recipient of this year’s Richard Jones Scholarship, given to dance majors who show exceptional skill and promise.

This year’s music scholarship award winners are:

Theodore Presser Award - Jonathan W. Decker

Howard Lebow Memorial Scholarship - Zoe G. Stinson

Fletcher Henderson Memorial / Max Roach Scholarship Award - Kyle J. Murray

Russell E. & Janet R. Falvey Scholarship - Maya C. Powe

Ornest Undergraduate Award - Laura E. Francis, Katherine A. Johnson, Natalie T. Lewis, Lachlan R. Miller, Sarah E. Van Ells

Philip Bezanson Graduate Award - Rosemary Crimp, Kayla M. Gayton, Aizel I. P. Livioco, Marcus C. Provost

Eugenie M. May Piano Award - Enoch Hsiao

Geraldine Shank Collaborative Piano Award - Gabriel G. Palansc

Julian Olevsky Memorial Award in Violin - Rebeca Rathlef

Laura Klock Award in Horn - Sofia Sallaway

Lynn Klock Award in Saxophone - Lynn A. Barszcz

David W. Briggs Scholarship in Memory of Jean S. Briggs - Eliza G. Howells

Susan Campbell Cunningham Outstanding Freshman Award - Qeanu Smith

Susan Campbell Cunningham Outstanding Sophomore Award - Rachel S. Hertz

Friends of Music Senior Award - Anna Pless 

Link to view recording of music Convocation: https://youtu.be/IvVWkROKIJ0