Reaching Out to Young Musicians
The purpose of the Scholarship Program of the Indian River Symphonic Association is to provide support based upon merit and need for private lessons, group tuition, and performance opportunities. The most crucial and valuable avenue of support for the Scholarship Program is providing scholarship for individual lessons to students who are still within their initial and secondary education experience (2nd-12th grade). While it is traditional for many scholarship programs to support students who have chosen music as a career path in college, the market is quite saturated with these efforts, and it is easy to question their effectiveness since those particular students have already chosen that career field.
A more impactful route has been proven in providing scholarship for developing students from a pool of vetted teachers who guarantee maximizing the student’s efforts, and also inculcate in them a true musical education. Too often individual students start to take lessons from an instructor who is not current or motivated or skilled, and end up becoming apathetic to the study and discipline and indeed even the joy of music as a result. The single most significant impact the Scholarship Program has is allowing vetted students to receive instruction from vetted teachers ensuring the most probable and favorable results. This model is working very well as the skill and musicianship of these students is obvious.
Thank you for your continued contributions to the Scholarship Program of the Indian River Symphonic Association, and any further gifts will only help the program to continue.
2024 Scholarship Recipients
Ava Infante is a high school senior violinist. She has played with the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra, won Satellite’s 2023 Concerto Competition, and placed 2nd in the 2023 BSA Concerto Competition. She will be going on tour to California for the Summer of 2024 with the First Presbyterian Church Youth Orchestra, and will be double-majoring in Computer Science and Music Performance in college next year. Ava is grateful and credits IRSA’s scholarship program for the ability to take lessons from superlative instructors which has made an enormous difference and is the reason she is able to major in music performance.
Samuel Schatzberg is a junior in high school and has 7 years of experience playing the violin. Active in the Brevard String Academy, he has toured New York and will tour California this summer. Sam is a scholarship student under the Indian River Symphonic Association, and takes lessons from Erik Bryan.
Isaiah Dorn, violist and violinist, was selected on viola for the 2023 Florida All-State Concert orchestra and on both the violin and viola for the Brevard All-County orchestra. He has also performed with the Central Florida Winds and the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra. Isaiah takes lessons from Erik Bryan, and through being a scholarship student of the Indian River Symphonic Association is able to study under both Erik Bryan and Dr. Jacob Craig.
Hannah Cannon is a sophomore cellist. She plays in Brevard String Academy orchestra as well as her high school orchestra and First Pres Vero’s orchestra, working with her peers to create beautiful music. She placed 1st for the Brevard String Academy 2023 concerto competition, attended Florida FMEA All State 2024, and Brevard All County Orchestra 2023 and 2024. Last year, she attended an NYC tour with First Pres Vero, performing pieces for numerous churches around New York City and New Jersey. She has a passion for playing, listening, and even conducting music, and plans to pursue it for her future as a possible career
2024 Scholarship recipients with Jacob Craig.