2020 School of Music Award Winners

Following the end of classes and ahead of what would have been Commencement weekend, Boston University College of Fine Arts School of Music hosted a virtual awards ceremony, during which faculty and administrators announced the 2019–2020 recipients of scholarships, awards, and prizes awarded to those graduating for outstanding excellence in the School of Music. Congratulations to all on your outstanding achievements!

Awards presenters Gregory Melchor-Barz (Director and Professor, BU College of Fine Arts School of Music), Martin Amlin (President, Alpha Kappa Chapter of Pi Kappa Lambda), and Members of the Student Life and Honors Committee Daniel Doña, Ruth Debrot, Samuel Headrick, Pavel Nersessian, and Barbara Raney hosted a virtual awards ceremony for the School of Music community, which you can check out here. Find a complete listing of award winners below.

Departmental Awards

Strings and Harp

Freya Liu (BM violin)
Deberly Kauffman (MM viola)
Noelle Marty (MM bass)
Ji Hye Choi (DMA violin)

Brass, Woodwinds, and Percussion

Olivia Iverson (BM flute)
Alyssa Primeau (MM flute)
Jacky Ho Yin Li (DMA horn)
Jisun Oh (DMA flute)

Voice

Madison Mackey (BM soprano)
Julianne Wolfe (MM soprano)

Opera Programs

Elizabeth Finnen (BM mezzo-soprano)
Crystal Haynes (MM mezzo-soprano)

Composition & Music Theory

Izabel Austin (MM composition)
Tak Cheung Hui (DMA composition)

Collaborative Piano

Celeste Johnson (DMA)

Piano

Chengcheng Ma (DMA)

Musicology and Ethnomusicology

Anna Carolina Pelaes (BM voice)
Jason McCool (PhD musicology)

Historical Performance and Organ

Michael Garrepy (MM organ)
Charles Iner (MM historical performance)
Patrick Walker (MM composition/organ)
Dolores August (DMA historical performance)

Music Education

Sab Scotti (BM)
Madeline Bucci (MM)
Amanda Tumbleson (MM)
Darryl Singleton (DMA)
Michael Sundblad (DMA)

Conducting

Tamara Dworetz (DMA)

Pi Kappa Lambda Inductees

Emma Chrisman⁺ (BM, Violin Performance & Music Education)
Celia Grace Daggy⁺ (BM, Viola Performance)
Heather Havens⁺ (BM, Flute Performance & Musicology)
Ethan Hobson* (BM, Theory & Composition)
Hannah Hooven* (BM, Music Education)
Kel Cadence Kim+ (BM, Music Education)
Esther F. Benjamin (MM, Cello Performance)
Gordon Foster Engelgau (MM, Music Education)
Jade Espina (MM, Voice Performance)
Michael Garrepy (MM, Organ Performance)
Deberly Kauffman (MM, Viola Performance)
Andrew Gustav Larson (MM, Music Education)
Yonsung Lee (MM, Viola Performance)
Huiying Ma (MM, Violin Performance)
Alyssa Danielle Primeau (MM, Flute Performance)
Courtney Regester (MM, Flute Performance)
Amanda Tumbleson⁺⁺ (MM, Music Education
Patrick R. Walker (MM, Composition, Organ Performance)
Shu-Peng Wang (MM, Piano Performance)
Jiani Zhu (MM, Piano Performance)
Hyun Jee Chung (DMA, Violin Performance)
Nathaniel Efthimiou⁺⁺ (DMA, Conducting)
Eric Goode (DMA, Tuba Performance)
Pauline Jung (DMA, Flute Performance)
Jose Martinez (DMA, Tuba Performance)
Tai Omega Oney (DMA, Music Education)
Fabio Silva Peixoto (DMA, Violin Performance)
Ann Schaefer (DMA, Collaborative Piano Performance)
Jie Song (DMA, Piano Performance)
Jacob Wittkopp (DMA, Music Education)
 

Faculty

Leland Owen Clarke (Musicology and Ethnomusicology)
Ruth Ann Debrot (Music Education)
Aaron Goldberg (Director of Athletic Bands)
Michael Birenbaum Quintero (Musicology and Ethnomusicology)
Tawnya D. Smith (Music Education)
Kinh Tien Vu (Music Education)

* Junior
+ Senior
++ Transferred membership from previous school

School of Music Awards

BU at Carnegie Hall

Caroline Bourg (BM soprano), studio of Lynn Eustis
Olivia Iverson (BM flute), studio of Linda Toote
Freya Liu (BM violin), studio of Bayla Keyes
Owen Dodds (MM piano), studio of Gila Goldstein
Eleni Kotzabassis (MM soprano), studio of Sharon Daniels
Pierre-Nicolas Colombat (DMA piano), studio of Pavel Nersessian
Michael Duffett (DMA violin), studio of Dana Mazurkevich
Celeste Johnson (DMA collaborative piano), studio of Javier Arrebola
Daniel Neyman (DMA piano), studio of Pavel Nersessian
Jisun Oh (DMA flute), studio of Linda Toote
Fabio Silva Peixoto (DMA violin), studio of Peter Zazofsky
Zhuqing Zhang (DMA viola), studio of Michelle LaCourse

String Department Bach Competition

Michael Frontz (BM), Undergraduate Cello Prize — Co-Winner, studio of Michael Reynolds
Sean Lee (BM), Undergraduate Violin Prize, studio of Peter Zazofsky
Sofia Puccio (BM), Undergraduate Cello Prize — Co-Winner, studio of Michael Reynolds
Deberly Kauffman (MM), Viola Prize, studio of Michelle LaCourse
Hui-Ying Ma (MM), Graduate Violin Prize, studio of Dana Mazurkevich

Soloists’ Competition

Jacky Ho-Yin Li (DMA horn), studio of Eric Ruske
Chengcheng Ma (DMA piano), studio of Boaz Sharon
Tianhong Yang (DMA piano), studio of Pavel Nersessian

Composers’ Competition

Joseph Sedarski (BM), studio of Rodney Lister

Wainwright Award

Zofia Gornicz “for a composed song about nature”
Hej, ty Wisło (a song for the Vistula river), studio of Ketty Nez

Jeremy Feininger “for a composed sonnet on any theme”
Ozymandias, studio of Rodney Lister

Phyllis Curtin Artists

Megan Callahan (OI mezzo-soprano), studio of Penelope Bitzas
Ashlee Lamar (OI soprano), studio of Penelope Bitzas
Rebecca Printz (OI mezzo soprano), studio of Penelope Bitzas

Ellalou Dimmock Vocal Honors Award

Tara Dougherty (BM soprano), studio of Lynn Eustis
Tara Palazuelos (BM mezzo-soprano), studio of Penelope Bitzas

Kahn Career Entry Award – Finalists

Eric Carey (OI tenor), faculty sponsor: Penelope Bitzas
Tak-Cheung Hui (DMA composition), faculty sponsor: Joshua Fineberg

Presser Scholar Award

Jeffrey Sagurton (BM percussion)

Ceremony Program

View and download the 2020 School of Music Student Awards Ceremony program.

As the oldest degree-granting music school in the country, Boston University College of Fine Arts School of Music offers both traditional conservatory-style training as well as a more expansive liberal arts undergraduate education for its student artists. The home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra for more than 100 years, Symphony Hall is regarded as one of the premiere concert halls on the global stage, thanks in part to its unique construction and famous organ.