Scholarship Recipients
Malachi Del Rosario
Jazz Guitar, 11th Grade
Fly Me to the Foon Scholarship Winner 2019-20
“Studying music means learning and understanding myself as a musician and an individual. As a child, I’ve always been interested in music constantly figuring out which instrument best suits me. Eventually, I picked up the guitar and fell in love, slowly beginning to understand the language of music. OSA has not only developed my talents as a musician but has carefully cultivated this growing passion, providing purpose in my everyday life as well as introducing me to a world of artists and creators. Now on my second year at the school, I find myself exceeding my musical expectations, utilizing every day as an opportunity to grow. Above all, I’ve discovered much about myself and the person I wish to be. Currently, OSA has integrated numerous life skills, all of which are guaranteed to stay. The consistency of daily practice, how to be a professional, and the management of academics and art are a few things I’ve certainly improved on. What keeps me motivated is my own constant desire to play and get better. I love the thrill of performing and I seek that moment where the only thing that matters is the present. Music today is the sole purpose of my life and will remain so in the near future.”
Hannah Mayer
Piano, 12th grade
Fly Me to the Foon Scholarship Winner 2019-20
“Here at OSA, music has created so many opportunities for me. I have grown so much and continue to grow as a musician through learning from amazing faculty every day, building relationships with other young musicians, arranging original music for ensembles, and receiving countless performance opportunities. Additionally, I have been able to meet well-known musicians and educators with whom I can connect with outside of school. For example, drummer Carl Allen did a masterclass with the Big Band last year, and over the summer, I attended the Brubeck Institute Summer Jazz Colony where he was on faculty. I was able to introduce myself as an OSA student, and I instantly had a connection with him where he would remember me on a deeper level than other student musicians in the program. At OSA I have also gotten the opportunity to collaborate with the musical theatre emphasis and have served as an accompanist for several of their rehearsals and performances. I hope to pursue jazz and accompaniment in the future, both skills that I am honing at OSA. I am currently applying to music conservatories for college where I plan to major in jazz studies. My love of music inspired me to take up piano at age 5, and I began to play jazz because I was captivated by the idea of communicating and conversing with others through melody. That musical conversation has become an essential part of who I am, and I cannot imagine my life without it.”
Leo Sens
Classical Guitar, 8th Grade
Fly Me to the Foon Scholarship Winner 2019-20
“Since 3rd grade, it was my goal to attend OSA. To get the opportunity to study music on a professional level with such depth is a dream of any musician, and since I began at OSA I have strived to make every minute of it worth it. Music was always intriguing to me. It’s a universal language, that can be shared and enjoyed by everyone with the drive and ambition to play an instrument. During my years at OSA and in my years to come, I hope the musicianship I’ve been learning to access at the school will be a versatile tool that I will be able to use on a professional and personal level. When I was 5, I signed up for classical guitar lessons. An instrument and style I chose without much thought to it. I continued for about 2 and a half years, never really applying much to it, thinking of it more as a hobby or side project. The real influence for my strong interest in guitar was introductions to the music of Leo Brouwer. His pieces were unique and unprecedented and lacked the very classic playing styles I was already familiar with and demonstrated a new and modern fashion that sucked me into the world of classical guitar. Further studying guitar at OSA has been a life-changing experience musically and personally.”
Alaysia Bobo
Cello, 8th Grade
Fly Me to the Foon Scholarship Winner 2019-20
“Studying music allows me to feel free of stress or worry actually it puts me in a better mood, which I have a dilemma or issue in my life, music turns my day from rainy to sunny. Being in the music department at OSA has for three years really changed my life. I have music classes for two periods 4th and 5th and that’s where I became more confident with myself and uncomfortable to do better and I was and am hungry to do my art better so I can become great one day. What inspired me to play was my gut. At first, I was going to play the violin because it was what everyone was doing but I didn’t want to do what everyone wanted so I chose cello.”
Isabelle Wolansky
Flute, 2019 Graduate
Fly Me to the Foon Scholarship Winner 2018-19
“Studying music gives me something to focus on that can be stress-relieving and exciting. It helps me take my mind off of things, especially when I'm having a hard time emotionally. Other times when I'm in a good mood, I get restless wanting to play something, and once I do it is always very fulfilling. In the short term, music gives me a reason to come to school every day and helps me stay motivated. In the third grade, I started taking song flute classes at school. One day, a girl came to class with a beautiful, silver C flute. The sound was mesmerizing. I love trying new things, so naturally I wanted to play the “real” flute too. I began to take flute lessons and ended up enjoying it tremendously. Through music lessons, I learned that achievement stems from practice and hard work. For the first time in my life, I felt accomplished and eager to learn more. Beyond OSA, I see music as a way of having fun on my own and in group settings. One of the best things about playing music is going through the difficult and fun parts, the sad, impactful pieces and the exhilarating pieces alike- experiencing all of it and sharing that feeling with others. It's a big part of my life now and always will be - there isn't a day that goes by in which I don't play or listen to music. I want to continue to study music in college and enter a career that relates to music.”
Taijee Shavers
Saxophone, 2019 Graduate
Fly Me to the Foon Scholarship Winner 2018-19
“As I have been studying music, I have been more responsive towards my voice and emotions. I was never really able to process what I was thinking until I was able to play music. In the short term of being at OSA, I am exploring different genres of music including classical music and jazz, through performance and composition. Long term, after OSA, I want to study Music Composition during college, and then branch out into film composition later on afterwards. I was inspired to play music overall by my grandmother. I heard many stories about her being a musician and I wanted to follow that type of path someday. I was never able to meet her, however, since she died before I was born. The saxophone was something I picked up as I listened to John Coltrane and Charlie Parker. I have affected others positively through music by leading by example. I am always active with the music and I love helping others so that they can understand the meaning of the piece in general. One of the main reasons why I play music is to spread positivity for everyone, so this is just built into what I can do for my ensembles.”
Tessa Cheng
Violin, 7th Grade
Fly Me to the Foon Scholarship Winner 2018-19
“Studying music means more to me than just playing an instrument. It means expressing myself, and being myself too. Ever since I was born, I've had a fascination for sound and music in general. The way it was created was -- and still is -- magical to me. I'm not sure what attracted me to the violin at age 4. Maybe it was the shape, maybe it was the sound the instrument made when it was played, but I knew right away that I was going to play the violin. At OSA I get to study violin 5 days a week! And I am looking forward to the strings' winter recital. I see studying music at OSA affecting my life in the short term because even though I have played in front of other students’ families with my private teacher, I still think that performing in front of people who I don't know and have never seen before will be a good change and will prepare me for my musical career. I see OSA affecting my life in the long term because OSA teaches me how to work as a team in my orchestra. Of course, other people with different instruments work together as well, but with the string orchestras I feel that we really have to understand and connect with one another when we play. This is a skill I know will still apply when I'm older and will be helpful as I go beyond OSA.”
Iona Kambouridis
Trumpet, 8th Grade
Fly Me to the Foon Scholarship Winner 2018-19
“To me, studying music is what shapes my life. I've always felt that everyone should have something to set them apart from being average. It’s not always an art, but a sport, obsession, or talent. Without something to shape it, life turns monotonous. My first contact with a trumpet at a music camp during the summer of first grade was all the inspiration I needed to beg my mother for music lessons. Today, one of the most satisfying sights is that of a piece of music that looks insanely difficult so that I can take it home and spend hours working out the rhythms, the runs, the kinks. On the flip side, the feeling of having skipped a day of practice is one of overwhelming guilt, kindled, but not sparked by the nagging of my parents. Thus, I work hard to see that I put in my practice time each day, though the occasional slip is inevitable. But when I put in the time and perfect my pieces, it is always worth the effort when I rehearse with my band and feel the music coursing through me as my part mingles with the others. That feeling is the reason I play trumpet. I don't know where music will take me, the same way I don't know where it will take me when I take home a difficult piece for a night's practice, but I do know that I will never let music out of my life.”
Dimitri D'Ambra
Trumpet, 9th Grade
Fly Me to the Foon Scholarship Winner 2017-18
“Being a musician to me is a sort of place of safety or protection from the rest of the world. I find that music is my only true way of self-expression. The main reason I play is because there’s so much I can say with music that I can’t actually say with words.”
Felix Silbelus
Guitar, 8th Grade
Fly Me to the Foon Scholarship Winner 2017-18
“Studying jazz and classical guitar for almost two hours a day has been a dream come true for me. Every day I look forward to playing music with my friends and it’s the best part of my school day. Someday, I want to become a professional musician who can play jazz and everything else.”