Talbot Arts is awarding full tuition summer arts scholarships to five Talbot County students who have just completed grades 9-12. Students with outstanding artistic promise are supported through the Willard A. Lockwood Grants program as they pursue advanced art studies in the summertime. Named in honor of the late Willard A. Lockwood, longtime president of the Arts Council, the scholarships are talent-based, not need-based. Grants from Talbot County, the towns of Easton, Oxford, and St. Michaels support the scholarship program.
As students and their families continue to cope with COVID19 challenges, the organization did not want the impact of COVID19 to jeopardize any qualified students from participating in the program. The scholarship selection committee, Janet Adams, Peggy Ford, Mary Ann Schindler, and Karla Wieland-Cherry, recommended that the Board waive the matching requirement for this summer’s program. They wanted to be sure there were no financial obstacles to their accepting the scholarship opportunity.
Easton High School student Will Ross is attending the summer music camp program at the West Chester University annual high school summer institute, where he will have the opportunity to perform in various large and small ensembles. According to Will, “Attending this program is important to my artistic development because it will give me more experiences with musical performance in bands as big as the ones in these summer programs.”
Two students, Anna Sanford and Elizabeth Snapp were nominated by faculty member Jacqueline Gosselin from Saints Peter and Paul High School.
In her statement, Anna wrote, “….as I prepare to be a Studio Art major in college; my focus is on gaining as much exposure as possible to art and the artistic process.”
For the second consecutive year, Elizabeth will take pre-college instructions, attending Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, a college she is considering after graduation.
Mara Stoyanov is furthering her musical expertise by participating in the online music camp offered by Westminster Conservatory. Maya was highly recommended for this program by Easton High School band teacher EJ Oesterle. Maya has received support from the Arts Council for three years.
Alexandra Webb, a student at Easton High School, is the first recipient of a Talbot Arts scholarship to the Cherry Tree Young Writers Conference at Washington College. She will join other aspiring young writers in developing their skills through intensive creative writing workshops with nationally renowned authors in one of four genres (poetry, fiction, memoir, or journalism.) They will also discuss literature at the college level with current English department faculty and attend professional readings.
For additional information regarding the Talbot Arts, contact Joan Levy, Executive Director, 410-245-5195 or email [email protected]