Special Events
Ninth Annual Scholarship Competition and Gala
Sherwood Conservatory of Music presented the Ninth Annual Scholarship Competition and Gala on Friday, May 9, 2008 at the Arts Club of Chicago, 201 East Ontario Street. The two-fold purpose of the Gala is to raise tuition support funds and to recognize high achievement in the Arts. The event was presented by Jenner & Block, with additional funding from Kirkland & Ellis, Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC, Marquette Bank, and Mr. & Mrs. Stratford Shields. Event co-chairs were Nina Owen and Nancy Shields
The Scholarship Competition and Gala was an outstanding success! Sherwood's student finalists performed at a remarkably high level and demonstrated musicality and technical mastery far beyond their years. In attendance were Dr. Warrick Carter, President of Columbia College Chicago; Dick Dunscomb, Head of Columbia College Chicago's Music Department; Phil Ponce, Special Honored Guest and Host of WTTW's Chicago Tonight; David Polk, Producer of WTTW's Introductions; and several Board Members from Sherwood Conservatory, Columbia College, and WTTW.
Scholarship Winners
Congratulations to our four Memorial Scholarship winners!
Catherine Zhou, 1st Place, Winner of the William Hall Sherwood Scholarship. Catherine, 12, is a 7th grade student at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools and has been studying piano with Laura Fenster since she was five years old. Catherine has won numerous piano competitions including the Steinway Young Artists Competition in 2004, which resulted in a broadcast performance on WFMT; six consecutive gold medals in the Chicago Area Music Teachers Association (CAMTA) Sonata-Sonatina Festival; and second place in the Roberta Savler piano contest at level D in 2007. Earlier this year, she took first place at the Society of American Musicians (SAM) competition at the Intermediate level. In addition, Catherine has been an avid chamber music member of several groups within the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra's chamber music program for the past four years. Catherine studies cello with Janet Janz and currently is the co-principal cellist of Chicago Youth Debut Orchestra. In her free time, Catherine listens to indie rock music and takes care of her two very cute bunnies.
Erica Jordan, 2nd Place, Winner of the Arthur Wildman Memorial Scholarship. Erica, 17, is a student of Ivana Buckvich and has studied the piano for seven years. Erica is a junior at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools where she is on the tennis team. In 2007 Erica received a silver medal at the Chicago Area Music Teachers Association (CAMTA) Sonata Festival and the 3rd Place Walter and Marion Erley Scholarship in Sherwood's Scholarship Competition. In her spare time Erica enjoys cooking, running, swimming, and hanging out with friends. Her favorite foods are Italian, Japanese and Mexican. She enjoys reading a wide range of books, including those by authors J.D. Salinger, David Sedaris, and Jane Austen.
Monique Johnson, 3rd Place, Winner of the Marion Erley Memorial Scholarship. Monique, 17, is a student of Greg Stickeler and has studied the saxophone for six years. Monique is a junior at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools where she is a member of the U-High Jazz Band, track team, and Black Students Association. Monique also plays with a jazz combo and wind-ensemble at the Merit School of Music. Monique was the recipient of the Scholarship with Distinction in the Wind Instrument Division of Sherwood’s Scholarship Competition in 2007. She placed fourth in the High School Division of the Union League Civic and Arts Foundation Jazz Improvisation Competition. She has performed at Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, Buddy Guy’s Legends Nightclub, and Checkerboard Lounge. Her favorite food is orange chicken. She enjoys reading, playing video games, and hanging out with her friends.
Mallory Price, 4th Place, Winner of the Scholarship with Distinction. Mallory, 15, is a student of Maria Bubanj and has recently started taking lessons with Terrence Gray. She has studied the violin for over 11 years. Mallory has won several honors for her violin playing, including First Place in the Albertina Walker Scholarship Competition, and was a semi- finalist in Sherwood's Scholarship Competition last year. Mallory is a freshman at Fenwick High School where she is a member of the Black Friars Guild. She has been a member of the Protégé Philharmonic for three years. She enjoys all kinds of music, from Broadway musicals, pop and hip hop, to the opera. Her favorite opera is The Magic Flute. Mallory also enjoys cooking--she loves to create delicious dishes for her family.
Honoree
Each year, a focal point of the Gala is to recognize a distinguished Chicagoan with the William Hall Sherwood Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Arts. This year Sherwood was pleased to honor Phil Ponce, host of Chicago Tonight, a nightly television magazine of news and culture on WTTW11, the most-watched PBS station in the country. Nationally, Ponce was one of Jim Lehrer's anchors on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. Ponce conducts nightly interviews with news-makers, authors, and artists, and moderates panels on topics ranging from business and medicine to the arts and education.
Ponce also currently serves as host of Arts Across Illinois, a WTTW television magazine about Illinois artists, musicians, performers, and writers. In addition to his television work, Ponce is a professor at Loyola University Chicago and is the university's Distinguished Journalist in Residence.
Competition and Judges
The competition began with school-wide preliminary auditions in March and April. It culminated with the Gala concert at which four Sherwood students who earned top scores in the preliminaries competed for Memorial Scholarships.
The panel of judges for this year's event included: Betty Buccheri, Pianist for the Lyric Opera of Chicago and Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Josephine Lee, Artistic Director of the Chicago Children's Choir and accomplished pianist; and Robert Katkov-Trevino, Artistic Director of the Millennium Chamber Players.
Students who won in competitions for the Beginner and Intermediate level categories in April will join the Advanced-level scholarship winners at an Honors Recital on June 7, 2008 in Sherwood's Recital Hall, 1312 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago.
Tuition Support Program
No student at Sherwood pays the full cost of tuition. Through the school's Tuition Support Program, many pay less and some pay nothing at all.
Each year approximately 25 scholarships are awarded to Sherwood students. Some students receive additional support through Sherwood's program of need-based financial aid.
For information on the 2008 Gala, please call Rachel Epley at (312) 427-6267, Ext. 110.